Jacare Souza will be taking his talents to the squared circle.

Souza, the longtime Strikeforce and UFC fighter, is known for his grappling as he was prolific in jiu-jitsu. Yet, since his retirement from MMA, he says he began training boxing and enjoyed it and now is closing in on a deal that will see him box.

“I couldn’t stay away from my training routine,” Souza told Sherdog.com. “I began to train boxing and I received a proposal to fight that I liked.”

Although Souza verbally agreed to the deal, he has not signed the contract, so he’s unable to say which promotion and who he will be fighting. However, the Brazilian says he is looking forward to showing off his new and improved striking.

“I cannot say the name of the event yet. What I can say is that my boxing is being sharpened already,” Souza said. “Even though I came from jiu-jitsu, I’ve always loved boxing, and if you see my MMA fights, I’ve always had strong hands.”

The news is no doubt surprising to many as Jacare Souza wasn’t exactly known for his striking while competing in the UFC. Yet, he says he has been working on it and is eager to show off his improvements.

Souza last fought back at UFC 262 in May where he suffered a submission loss to Andre Muniz. After the loss, he retired from MMA and many expected that to end him competing in combat sports, but that obviously is not the case. The loss was his fourth in a row as he was knocked out by Kevin Holland, and back-to-back decision setbacks to Jan Blachowicz and Jack Hermansson. In his career, he holds notable wins over Chris Weidman, Gegard Mousasi, Robbie Lawler, and Derek Brunson among countless others.

Are you surprised Jacare Souza will be boxing?