With Luke Rockhold Injured, Jacare Souza Will Meet Chris Weidman At UFC 230 Co-Main Event
Earlier ESPN’s Brett Okamoto announced the news that Luke Rockhold withdraws from his upcoming rematch against former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC 230 due to an injury.UFC didn’t waste any time in finding a new opponent for Weidman.
Rockhold hasn’t fought since losing the fight to Yoel Romero back in February. He was briefly linked to the light heavyweight showdown with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 227 but forced to pull out due to an injury.
Per sources, Luke Rockhold is out of his middleweight fight against Chris Weidman at UFC 230. UFC already working on shuffling things around. This is the co-main event currently.
Per sources, Luke Rockhold is out of his middleweight fight against Chris Weidman at UFC 230. UFC already working on shuffling things around. This is the co-main event currently.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 19, 2018
Okamoto after speaking with Dana White confirmed that former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will step in for injured Rockhold.
Weidman vs. Jacare is done, per Dana White. UFC trying to keep David Branch, who was scheduled to fight Jacare, on the card. Jared Cannonier is a possibility, but not done.
Weidman vs. Jacare is done, per Dana White. UFC trying to keep David Branch, who was scheduled to fight Jacare, on the card. Jared Cannonier is a possibility, but not done.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 20, 2018
Souza is coming off a split decision loss to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 224 but earns the Fight of the Night. Before this loss, Jacare knockout Derek Brunson earlier in January. The prolific grappler ranked #5 in the middleweight division.
Souza was initially slated to face David Branch on the same very card, so now that leaves Branch without the dancing partner. But sure Okamoto mentioned one possibility is a former heavyweight Jared Cannonier, who has competed at light heavyweight over his past several bouts.
UFC 230 is set to go down on November 3 from inside Madison Square Garden and with the main headliner features heavyweight title clash between division’s champion Daniel Cormier and knockout artist Derrick Lewis.
