Jacaré will face T. Boetsch at UFC 209. (Photo: Getty Images)
Ronaldo Jacare He tried, but was unable to receive the chance to compete for the UFC middleweight belt against Michael Bisping, current weight champion. With no available opponents and away from the Octagon since May 2016, the Brazilian, 3rd in the rankings, accepted a duel against Tim Boestch, 14th in the weight category, at UFC 208, on February 11, in Brooklyn. According to the jiu-jitsu black belt, he accepted the challenge so he could stay active, and took the opportunity to poke the champion, who he called 'lazy'.
See too
“I saw it as an opportunity to fight, not to stand still. I realize that all the people who were inactive for a long time didn't do well when they came back. I like to stay active, to always be fighting. He was scheduled to fight Rockhold in November, but it looks like he got injured. The UFC offered me Boetsch now, and I accepted, I thought it was cool. Luke is injured, Chris (Weidman) doesn't have time to return, (Robert) Whittaker is injured... That's the fight he has. Bisping is running, he's a slacker, he wants to shock the belt. (Yoel) Romero doesn't want to face me at all. I had to accept it so as not to be left without a fight. The belt will happen when it has to happen. The intention is to catch everyone, line up the entire division… I want to beat everyone, until the UFC gives me the opportunity I deserve”, he declared, in an interview with the website 'Combate.com'.
Despite recognizing that Boetsch is not part of the division's elite, Jacaré praised his next opponent, ensuring that he is aware of the difficulties he may encounter in the octagon.
“He is trouble, a very tough guy. Boetsch is not an easy fight for anyone, I'm very interested in his skills. He's a very strong guy, with good wrestling, heavy hands. I have to log in. If I blink, I can do a long blink, the kind that wakes me up after a long time (laughs). I'm going to put together a good strategy to nullify all his weapons. The objective is always to get to the ground and finish, but I can end the fight early (laughs)”, he concluded.
At 37 years old, Jacaré is coming off a victory over Vitor belfort at UFC 198, in May, in Curitiba. Before, he saw his streak of five wins in the organization broken with the defeat against Yoel romero, in December 2015. In total, he has a record with 23 wins, four losses and one unsuccessful fight.
Comments