There was clearly a time, and this wasn't everything that long ago, when Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza is the newly-minted terror in the world's middleweight division.
From the watching Souza dismantle Robbie Lawler back in 2011 and thinking to myself, "OK, this guy is pretty scary and I'd like to see him fight Anderson Silva. inch
That was still a pipe dream back then, of course. Zuffa wouldn't purchase Strikeforce until three months after Souza submitted Lawler with regard to his fourth win in a very row; the possibility of Souza actually facing Silva and other top UFC middleweights wouldn't be a reality until somewhat more than two years later.
On Saturday night, Souza finally enters a similar division as Silva, and I can't help but believe his best opportunity to earn some sort of favored scorecard likely disappeared out the window back when he lost his Strikeforce middleweight distinction to Luke Rockhold.
That fight was the sole after Lawler, and the application derailed years of boasting behind Jacare; instead of getting his UFC debut to be a top title contender, Jacare is normally debuting against Chris Camozzi. Rockhold, in the meantime, is in the main event against among the list of UFC's bigger names with a title shot likely at risk.
Souza has to look like he could've easily experienced Rockhold's shoes, like Rockhold's spoils needs to have been his. And Souza can still work his within to the top, but that journey simply must begin Saturday night. He simply cannot falter, or he'll be that is disregarded.
Link: Strengthened to taste
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