'Jacare' Souza happy to be back at UFC on FOX 27 after recovering from ‘injury of injuries’

Ronaldo Souza already had his hands full in the aftermath of a serious injury. But when it rains, he would find out, it pours.

“I was already thinking about getting back,” Souza told MMAjunkie. “I was happy about returning and then I had the appendix issue.”

The “appendix issue” was appendicitis. As he finished recovering from surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle, Souza had to go under the knife again for an appendectomy. This surgery can be relatively simple. If caught on time, recovery can be quick. But it seems Souza’s case wasn’t that simple.

“It burst,” Souza said. “It was quite complicated. There was a lot of pain. I had surgery, and I was in the hospital for seven days. Then I get home, and who shows up there? (The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency). There I was, with an ice bag on my belly, all busted up, and there they were getting blood and pee from me.”

Souza laughed, before clarifying.

“I’m not complaining (about USADA),” Souza said. “I love it. They’re making a cleaner sport.”

Thankfully, that’s in the past. Souza (24-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is better. More importantly, he is back – and very happy about that fact, too.

When he meets Derek Brunson (18-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in the headliner of Saturday’s UFC on FOX 27, it will have been a little more than nine months since his upset knockout loss to now-middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC on FOX 24.

“Being back this quickly is a blessing,” Souza said.

And, knowing what he went through to make it to Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C, one is inclined to agree.

Souza’s injury wasn’t fresh. In fact, he already was suffering from the effects of it ahead of both his submission win over Tim Boetsch and the meeting with Whittaker – though he’ll stop you right there if you so much as suggest that’s what prompted the negative outcome.

“He was better, and he beat me,” Souza said.

While “Jacare” refuses to use that an an excuse, fact is, shortly after being knocked out by Whittaker, he was on an operating table. The injury certainly wasn’t the Brazilian grappling ace’s first, but it was a particularly bad one.

Bad enough to cause him to question his desire to keep fighting.

“It was horrible,” Souza said. “For all my life as an athlete, I’d never have injuries. And then, in these past few years, it’s one injury after the other, one injury after the other. After this one, I thought, ‘I think I’m going to stop fighting.’ Six months out, with such a serious injury.

“I say that this was the injury of injuries, because of the time I had be away. Six months, without being able to do absolutely anything. And then I return, and I’m fat. I have no timing. I’m out of shape. It was horrible, horrible, horrible. I had one thing that kept me: my will power. That’s it. There was nothing else.”

Souza was on a two-fight streak before Whittaker, with the incisive wins over Boetsch and ex-champ Vitor Belfort. The back-to-back finishes meant both recovery from a controversial loss to Yoel Romero – a fight Souza still firmly believes he won – and two pivotal steps in his long-running case for a UFC title shot.

At 38, Souza certainly has secured his place among the sport’s notables. He has made names for himself in both his original Brazilian jiu-jitsu and, then, in MMA. Souza has held a Strikeforce belt. He’s faced – and beaten – top competition.

Had he chosen to walk away, there would be no taking away from what he’d already accomplished. So why didn’t he?

“I always finish what I start,” Souza said. “And I think, ‘No, I know I haven’t finished my purpose in the UFC.’ I haven’t. Many people might not believe it, but I do. I believe I will win. I will move forward. I will be OK. I will perform well. I will be in shape. I will be back.”

Souza’s life has become quite different since his last fight. Amid the injury and illness turmoil, he left his longtime residence in Rio de Janeiro and moved, with his wife and children, to the U.S. He’s now training at Fusion X-Cel and, with the rough days behind him, he feels good physically and mentally. (via Instagram)

Amo minha Família! Love My Family! #obrigadodeus #thanksgod #jesusofilhodedeus

A post shared by Ronaldo Jacaré ?? (@ronaldojacare) on Nov 19, 2017 at 4:21pm PST

He gets a chance to showcase that on Saturday in a rematch against Brunson. The first time they met, in Strikeforce, Souza needed only 41 seconds to knock out Brunson. That was in 2012. Since then, Souza ponders, “everything” has changed for both fighters.

OK, maybe not everything.

“The same way he’s changed, he’s still saying the same crap that he did before,” Souza said. “That he will knock me out, do this or that. I will say one thing: Fights are solved in the octagon. And that’s where I will fight him.”

Souza is not going into it expecting an easy battle. He’s aware of Brunson’s power – and that he needs to respect that. He’s aware of Brunson’s stamina. And, the same way he’s prepared to go five rounds, Souza expects this from his opponent.

After all that it took to get here, though, Souza remains confident.

“I’m ready,” Souza said. “That’s all I can say about my next fight. I’m ready. I’m doing good. I’m happy. I’m going to look good on the 27th.”

For more on UFC on FOX 27, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.