Ronaldo Souza, an eight-time world Jiu-Jitsu champion, is a Brazilian MMA fighter who competes in the UFC. He is regarded as one of the best in the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division. As the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, this ruthless fighter from Brazil has already taken the organization by storm.
He isn’t regarded as one of the best fighters in the UFC for nothing. He has defeated UFC champions such as Vitor Belfort, Robbie Lawler, Chris Weidman, and many others. Before we get into the details of Souza’s life, let’s look at some quick facts about him.
Where was Ronaldo Souza born? Ethnicity, Nationality, Family
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Ronaldo Souza was born on December 7, 1979, in Vila, Velha, Brazil, under the sign of Sagittarius. His family later relocated to Cariacica, Brazil, where he was raised until the age of 15. Souza’s first love as a child was “soccer,” and he spent most of his time with friends playing the game.
Furthermore, Souza adored the position of goalkeeper in the game. As a result, he even competed at the competitive level from that position. However, that part of the country was dangerous and unsafe. As a result, Souza had a difficult childhood.
Then came a particularly traumatic event in his life, when Souza had to witness the death of one of his close friends, who was shot on the day of his 15th birthday. Similarly, this incident shook his family, and he and his mother relocated to Manaus in the Amazon to live with his brother.
He met his future master, Henrique Machado, during those tenures.
Is Ronaldo Souza Single? Relationship
Souza is a very private person, so we don’t know much about his personal life. But we do know that he is married to Larissa Carvallo, and the couple has three sons. Souza occasionally shares their photos on social media with his family. Furthermore, Ronaldo is an ambitious man, as evidenced by his desire to open his own Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Orlando, Florida.
How tall is Ronaldo Souza? Weight, Hair Color
Ronaldo Souza is a 42-year-old champion who is still active and fighting professionally in the UFC despite being in his early forties. Born on December 7, 1979, this champion is a god-fearing man who has stated that he will accept God’s will and officially retire when he feels it is time.
Ready to take on the octagon? Ronaldo Souza is 6 feet 1 inch (1.85m) tall and weighs around 185 pounds (84 kgs). He is a fierce fighter due to his massive build and incredible speed. Souza has an athletic physique and a well-trained body as a result of his years of training.
How did Ronaldo Souza start his Professional Career?
Introduction to Mixed Martial Arts
Henrique Machado was a BJJ black belt under Osvaldo Alves and a 5th Dan in Judo, to name a few accomplishments. Souza began training under Machado every day, and he even began Jiu-Jitsu there. Souza was initially uninterested in the game and joked that they needed too much hugging in the game.
However, after a few fights in the local arena, he began to enjoy it. Following that, Souza and Machado joined the A.S.L.E (“Associaço Sensei de Lutas Esportivas”). Souza fought for the firm in several fights before making the switch to the professional ranks in 2003.
Ronaldo Souza entered the octagon for the first time through a missed martial arts competition at the inaugural fight “Jungle Fights” in September 2003. In his first-ever official match, he was knocked out by Jorge Patino. Souza returned eight months later in Jungle Fights 2 to defeat Victor Babkir in the first round in under a minute.
Similarly, Ronaldo had his third fight in Jungle Fights 6 in 2006. The opponent was Alexander Shlemenko. He won the fight by submitting with an arm-triangle choke. In addition, Souza’s highlight of 2006 was when he fought and drew with UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture in a fiercely competitive match.
Couture was so impressed with Souza during the match that he invited him to train at his Xtreme Couture gym. Ronaldo graciously accepted the offer and began training at the Las Vegas gym. Souza defeated veteran fighter Bill Vucick in the first fight of 2007 at Gracie Fighting Championships: Evolution via submission after strikes.
Furthermore, he went on to win two more matches in the next two fights within two weeks, both by submissions in the first round. Then, in 2008, Ronaldo Souza signed with the Japanese MMA production company DREAM. He competed in the DREAM Middleweight Grand-Prix in 2008.
Furthermore, in the first round of the said championship, Souza defeated Ian Murphy by submission via rear-naked choke. This impressive victory earned him a place in the quarter-finals.
Championships
Souza faced ICON Sport Middleweight Champion Jason Miller in the DREAM 4 quarter-finals. The game went on for a long time, with Souza constantly dominating and attempting to submit. Souza eventually won the match by unanimous decision.
Also, Souza’s victory over Miller earned him a spot in the semi-finals, where he faced and defeated Zelg Galesic in the first round via armbar submission.
Souza advanced to the finals after defeating Galesic in the semi-finals. This meant he could compete for the DREAM Middleweight Championship. Later, on the same night he defeated Zelig, Ronaldo competed in the finals against Gerard Mousasi but was knocked out in the early half of the first round.
When he attempted to dive past Mousasi’s guard, he was knocked out by an uptick. After the competition, he left Xtreme Couture and relocated to San Diego, California, to begin training with Saulo and Xande Ribeiro.
He then trained alongside Anderson Silva and Andre Galvao to prepare for Silva’s fight against Thales Leites at UFC 97, which took place at Black House. Furthermore, at DREAM 9, Ronaldo Souza fought in a rematch with Jason Miller for the DREAM Middleweight Championship.
This was only possible because Gerard Mousasi vacated the title and moved to Light Heavyweight. Because of Miller’s illegal attack, the match with Souza and Miller had to be called a no contest. The impact also caused Souza’s gash in the head to open up.
Strikeforce: A better and more developed Souza
Ronaldo Souza was fully prepared for Strikeforce. His gameplay was evident in the first match of Strikeforce: Evolution, which he won with a first-round submission by Matt Lindland. Souza faced Joey Villasenor at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery in 2010 after his stand-up striking had improved by the time he joined Strikeforce.
Fortunately, he won that fight by unanimous decision. At Strikeforce: Houston, Ronaldo Souza faced Tim Kennedy. He was fighting for the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Furthermore, he won by unanimous decision to become Strikeforce’s Middleweight Champion.
He also made his first title defense against former UFC champion Robbie Lawler. Furthermore, Souza triumphed in the match and successfully defended his championship. Souza’s second chance was not as fortunate, as he lost his championship title by unanimous decision to Luke Rockhold of the American Kickboxing Academy.
Later, in 2012, Souza competed in Strikeforce for the sixth time, this time against Bristol Marunde, who lost to Souza via submission in the final round. Ronaldo took down his next Strikeforce opponent with a right-hand punch that knocked out Derek Brunson in 41 seconds.
He had to face UFC veteran Ed Herman in his final Strikeforce match. Souza put on an incredible performance, winning by submission in the first round. This was also one of his most incredible fights, as he took down a UFC veteran so quickly in the ring.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)- Souza’s Later Career
Ronaldo Souza signed a five-year contract with UFC in 2013. Initially, he was scheduled to make his UFC on FX 8 debut against Costas Philip in May 2013. But, Philip unexpectedly dropped out, citing injury.
Furthermore, Costas was replaced by Chris Camozzi, who was defeated by Souza in the first round via an arm-triangle choke that rendered the former unconscious. Souza also defeated his final 2013 opponent, Yushin Okami, at UFC Night 28.
Souza won his first fight of 2014 by unanimous decision over Francis Carmont. However, Souza suffered an injury during training that required at least six weeks to heal. Ronaldo’s highlight of the year came when he won the Performance of the Night bonus award after defeating Gerard Mousasi via submission in the third round.
Unfortunately, Ronaldo Souza’s year was marred by pneumonia the following year. He also had a ligament and meniscus tear in his knee, which added to his list of injuries. Because of his injuries, his fight with Yoel Romero had to be rescheduled twice.
Unfortunately, he lost the match due to the split decisions. In the brawl, he also lost to returning veteran Chris Camozzi.
Ronaldo Souza vs Vitor
Souza later faced Vitor Belfort again at UFC 198. He won this particular fight by knockout in the first round. Notably, Souza received the Performance of the Night Award and a bonus for that fight. Ronaldo also fought Tim Boetsch in 2017 and won via submission in the first round.
Similarly, Souza was awarded the performance of the night award and a bonus for his brilliant gameplay. Souza was knocked out in the second round of another match against Robert Whittaker. Similarly, Souza won another Performance of the Night award and a bonus when he knocked out Derek Brunson in the main event of UFC on Fox 27 in 2018.
Souza lost a split decision to Kelvin Gastelum in UFC 224
Similarly, he won the Fight of the Night and Chris Weidman, with whom he fought that night, because of their outstanding performances. However, he was defeated by a split decision. Furthermore, Souza competed against Jack Hermansson and was defeated by a unanimous decision.
Ronaldo Souza had to cancel his match in 2020 after contracting COVID-19. He was supposed to fight Uriah Hall at UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida. Souza faced Kevin Holland in December 2020 and lost the match after being knocked out in the first round.
Ronaldo Souza | Career Highlights
Souza has accomplished numerous feats since his adolescent years. Even though Souza’s MMA debut was a loss, he was always striving for bigger goals. Souza currently holds a fourth-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a black belt in Judo, both under Henrique Machado.
He is also an eight-time Confederacao Brasileira de Jiu-Jitsu world champion. Souza currently has a record of 26 wins, 9 losses, and 1 no contest in 36 total games played. Souza has eight knockout victories, fourteen submission victories, and four decision victories.
Similarly, his defeats were four by knockout and five by decision. The accomplishments to date are highlighted below.
Social Media Details
Ronaldo Souza is an active social media user who occasionally shares personal moments with fans. Check out the fighter’s social media pages if you want to get in touch with him.
- 730k followers on Instagram (@ronaldojacare)
- Twitter handle (@jacaremma): 130.7k followers
You can also follow his wife on Instagram, where she goes by the name Larissa Carvalho (@larascarvalho). She currently has 6.8k followers on her page, but her account is set to private.
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