“Stop, stop, STOP!”
Andre Muniz is a runaway train, but it was Jacare Souza that got de-railed at UFC 262.
It was not that long ago that Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza was mixing it with the likes of Robert Whittaker, Vitor Belfort and Yoel Romero at the top of the UFC middleweight division. The former Strikeforce champion was often close but not close enough to UFC gold, but he is on a losing skid and his time in the promotion may be running out.
Souza returned to the middleweight division after a one-fight foray into the light heavyweights, and was looking for his 27th career win when he took on fellow Brazilian Andre Muniz on the under-card for the UFC 262 main events that ended with Charles Oliveira sparking out Michael Chandler.
To get win No.27, he had to go through Muniz, who had won 13 of his last 14 fights and was 4-0 in the UFC. 13 of Muniz’ 20 career wins had come via submission, so it was no surprise that he was all-in on getting Jacare to the mat.
After some tentative exchanges in the opening minutes, Muniz eventually scored the takedown he was looking for and, with just over a minute to go in the first round, he locked in a savage arm-bar. Souza, to his credit, was not for tapping but the contest was immediately ended as Muniz snapped his compatriot’s arm.
As the referee rushed in, calling for Muniz to release Jacare from the hold, the Texas crowd were left stunned. Over in the commentary booth, Joe Rogan exclaimed:
“Oh my goodness, he’s broken his arm! Oh my God, he broke his arm. That is so crazy.”
WARNING: The content below is graphic and even more jarring with the sound on.
CALLED HIS SHOT. TAPPED OUT A LEGEND.
🇧🇷 @AndreMunizUFC with a career-defining victory tonight! #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/s65nOQdtNb
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 16, 2021
That victory should see Muniz vault into the Top 10 of the UFC’s middleweight rankings. He will be hunting down bigger names but, with 14 submission wins now on his record, some will be trying their best to dodge the Brazilian while they can.
There was another display of sheer grit, later in the night, as former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson endured a rough outing against Beneil Dariush.
‘El Cucuy’ was coming into the co-main event on a two-fight losing skid but determined to show he could get back in the title picture. With Oliveira vs. Chandler up next, both Ferguson and Dariush knew a dominant win could put them in range of a shot at the belt.
Dariush was the fighter in form, though, and it showed. He took Ferguson down in each of the three rounds and there was an incredible moment in the second as he locked in a heel hook that had the American in all sorts of pain.
Dariush later said he had heard a pop in Ferguson’s ankle and was amazed he did not tap.
NEXT-LEVEL TOUGHNESS ON DISPLAY. 😳
Dariush locks in the heel hook but Ferguson somehow battles out! #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/cxplA1qWKp
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 16, 2021
Ferguson may have been hurt but he was determined to fight until the very end. That he did, but Dariush was awarded a unanimous victory that now puts him in the title conversation.
The Iranian feels he should get a crack at the winner of Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier’s trilogy fight, in July, in a title eliminator for Oliveira’s newly-acquired belt.
