Chris Camozzi: 'Victory over Jacaré would put me in the Top 10'

Chris Camozzi (photo) replaced Costa Phillipou in the fight against Ronaldo Jacare. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

The change of opponent at the last minute doesn't seem to bother North American Chris Camozzi, who now faces the Ronaldo Jacare in the co-main fight of the UFC at Combate 2. In an interview with the website MMA Junkie, Camozzi said he believed that a victory over the Brazilian would place him among the main names in the middleweight category.

“A win (over Jacaré) would definitely put me in the Top 10. There are other guys ranked in the top ten who have never beaten a Top 10 opponent. So I think that by beating one I could replace one of those guys,” said Camozzi, who replaced the injured Costa Phillipou in combat recently.

The 26-year-old fighter also commented on the changes in his preparation after changing opponents. “We had a plan for the fight against (Rafael 'Sapo') Natal. We will transfer some of this to the fight against 'Jacaré'. Obviously I know that I'm not a better jiu-jitsu fighter than him and no training will take me to that level”, analyzed Camozzi. “But this is MMA, not jiu-jitsu”, he added.

Chris Camozzi faces Brazilian Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza, former middleweight champion of the now defunct Strikeforce, in the co-main event of the UFC in Combate 2. The event takes place on May 15th at Arena Jaraguá, in Jaraguá do Sul (SC ).