After an ultra-impressive first round knockout victory over Thiago Santos in April, former WSOF double champ, David Branch has his sights set on another big fight.
Specifically in the crosshairs of Branch is the perennial top 5 middleweight contender, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza.
According to Branch, the fight is on the table for a Brazil card main event in August.
I just want to be clear to everyone I’ve been offered to fight JACARE main event August 22nd in Brazil and he’s not feeling confident enough to take the fight. @arielhelwani @DamonMartin @bokamotoESPN @sherdogdotcom @NewYorkRic @lthomasnews
— David Branch (@DavidcBranchMMA) June 12, 2018
Officially we were being told by the ufc the man who calls himself the alligator has been neutered @JacareMMA has declined to fight in his Homeland.
— David Branch (@DavidcBranchMMA) June 19, 2018
I just want to be clear to everyone I’ve been offered to fight JACARE main event August 22nd in Brazil and he’s not feeling confident enough to take the fight.
Officially we were being told by the ufc the man who calls himself the alligator has been neutered @JacareMMA has declined to fight in his Homeland.
However, there appears to be no interest on Jacare’s side as what is a big fight for Branch is not one for him according to his manager, Gilberto Faria.
“Dave Branch was offered to us twice in 18 months and Jacare agreed both times, but he jumped ship.” Faria told MMAFighting, “Jacare wants to fight someone ranked higher in the middleweight division, like rematches with Yoel Romero or Kelvin Gastelum, or a fight with Chris Weidman.
It doesn’t make sense to fight Dave Branch now. Jacare is not in a hurry, he will sit down like everyone else does and wait for a bigger fight. Jacare has always fought opponents ranked lower than him, and it’s time to face someone ahead of him.”
Jacare last fought at UFC 224 in May when he and Kelvin Gastelum put on the fight of the night.
Unfortunately, the judges didn’t see it in Jacare’s favor and he lost the close fight via split decision. The result was the same when he first fought Yoel Romero at UFC 194 as well.
With both fights being so close and both fighters being ranked above Jacare, it makes sense as to why he would want to get redemption.
But it’s hard to pick and choose opponents in the UFC so we’ll see how things shake out. In the meanwhile, Branch continued to share his thoughts.
Fact: @JacareMMA lost to Whittaker, Gastelum, Romero, and Luke…. how you want to fight someone above? @arielhelwani @lthomasnews @bokamotoESPN @shaunalshatti @ChaelSonnen @DamonMartin
— David Branch (@DavidcBranchMMA) June 19, 2018
I love Brazilian people and the Brazilian fans and I want to go out there and put on a good show with Jacare and I hope he accepts the challenge. Team @RenzoGracieBJJ
— David Branch (@DavidcBranchMMA) June 19, 2018
Fact: @JacareMMA lost to Whittaker, Gastelum, Romero, and Luke…. how you want to fight someone above?
I love Brazilian people and the Brazilian fans and I want to go out there and put on a good show with Jacare and I hope he accepts the challenge. Team @RenzoGracieBJJ
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/19/2018.