UFC Fight Night 36 results, photos: Ronaldo Souza grinds out win over Francis Carmont

JARAGUA DO SUL, Brazil – Ronaldo Souza managed to take up long-term residence on Francis Carmont’s back, but the submissions specialist couldn’t quite seal the deal.

Instead, “Jacare” was forced to settle for a one-sided unanimous-decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 30-27), and one that he hopes will put him in line for a UFC middleweight title shot.

The middleweight bout co-headlined today’s UFC Fight Night 36 event at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Souza got off to a fast start in Round 1, taking Carmont’s back and nearly locking up a rear-naked choke. Carmont managed to fend off that danger, however, and found some success on the feet in the second frame. But in the third, Souza brought the fight back to the floor, again seizing Carmont’s back and splitting his time between looking for submissions and peppering the Frenchman with short punches. In the end, time ran out before Souza could lock on for a finish, but by then the judges’ decision was a mere formality.

The question now is, what next for Souza?

“I want the champ,” he said in his post-fight interview, via a translator. “I want whoever has the belt. And if the UFC doesn’t think I’m ready for that, just put anyone ahead of me and I’ll get over them.”

Souza (20-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) maintains his perfect streak in the UFC with the win. Carmont (22-8 MMA, 6-1 UFC) suffers his first defeat since 2008, and his only loss in the UFC.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 36 results include:

• Ronaldo Souza def. Francis Carmont via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Erick Silva def. Takenori Sato via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:52
• Nicholas Musoke def. Viscardi Andrade via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Charles Oliveira def. Andy Ogle via submission (triangle choke) – Round 3, 2:40
• Joe Proctor def. Cristiano Marcello via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
• Rodrigo Damm def. Ivan Jorge via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Francisco Trinaldo def. Jesse Ronson via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
• Yuri Alcantara def. Wilson Reis via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
• Felipe Arantes def. Maximo Blanco via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
• Ildemar Alcantara def. Albert Tumenov via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
• Zubaira Tukhugov def. Douglas de Andrade via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 36, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Brazil.