Jacaré asks for a title fight and calls Bisping a “runaway”

R. Jacaré wants to face champion M. Bisping for the middleweight belt. (Photo: Getty Images)

After being removed from the UFC Australia card due to a leg injury, Luke Rockhold, whom he would face in the main fight of the event, Ronaldo Jacare finds himself in a curious situation in the organization. With the exception of the champion Michael Bisping, all the other fighters at the top of the category have fights scheduled, a fact that, according to the Brazilian himself, could pave the way for a title fight soon.

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“Honestly, I don’t know what the UFC is going to do. I was sad for Luke, I heard it was a serious injury to his left knee and that he will be out of action for a while. I wish him a good recovery and I'll wait for what the UFC has for me. I believe that now it's Bisping and that as soon as he can return to training, the UFC will set a date for Jacaré x Bisping. It's the fight that makes the most sense, but I need to work too. I can't wait for a fight that will probably be difficult to happen because Bisping is running around a lot, he doesn't want to fight. He wants to fight anyone, except the top of the division, much less me. It's going to be difficult to find an opponent for me now, considering that Luke has been chasing me since Strikeforce. Unfortunately he got injured and other opponents don't want to accept the fight with me”, said the Brazilian, in an interview with the website 'Combate.com'.

However, Jacaré admits that he is not very optimistic about the situation, especially because he believes that Bisping would be “running away” from a possible confrontation against him. “To be champion, I wait to fight Bisping, the fugitive. Let's see if he keeps running away. I'm already off the couch and I hope he gives me that opportunity. As I said, he wants to fight everyone, except a top guy, much less me. From what he's talking about (about fighting the Nick Diaz), already proves what I’m saying” said Jacaré.

At 36, Ronaldo Jacare is number three in the middleweight rankings and is coming off a victory over Vitor belfort in May this year, at the historic UFC 198, held in Curitiba. In total, he has already won six fights in Ultimate and lost only one, against Yoel romero, in December 2015, in a very controversial decision by the side judges.