UFC
Jacare Souza facing surgery after UFC Fight Night 36 win; would agree to Luke Rockhold rematch if UFC offers
Feb 16, 2014 - 12:30:24 PM Jacare Souza facing surgery after UFC Fight Night 36 win; would agree to Luke Rockhold rematch if UFC offers

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza each picked up one-sided decision wins on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 36, staking their respective claims to a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Unfortunately, both also left the event injured. Machida believed he may have broken his foot during the third round of the main event, while Jacare suffered an injury prior to the event before fighting anyway.

Souza hurt his arm in training and has some bone fragments that need to be removed, and he expects to undergo a minor arthroscopic procedure that will keep him out around six weeks.

"I'm going to have to clean my arm out of these [bone] fragments," Souza said at the post-fight press conference (via MMAJunkie.com). "I had no difficulty because of the injury. I mentioned that I had a lot of [bone] fragments in my left arm, and some people said that I shouldn’t fight. I asked the UFC to trust me; I asked my physicians if I could fight, and they told me that I had a good chance of fighting, so that's what I believed in."

Souza may not be next in line regardless of the injury, and is likely going to have to fight someone else in a No. 1 contender fight sometime this summer. Among the top of the list could be Luke Rockhold, who defeated Souza back in Strikeforce in a five round decision.

If Rockhold defeats Tim Boetsch this April, a rematch could provide a solid title contender. It's not the highest on Souza's list of priorities, but he said after the event that it's a fight he'd take if the UFC booked it.

"Yeah, it's OK," Souza said of that potential matchup. "If the UFC thinks that's what's good, that's it. When I think about Belfort hitting him, that's what happens. If you come to Brazil, we will hit you. I think he's way below in the rankings, but if the UFC thinks that has to be done, I'll do it. I'll prove I'm better than he is."

Penick's Analysis: For as excellent as Souza is, he did lose to Rockhold, and it wasn't a fluke or a bad decision. He just got beat in a close fight. A rematch will absolutely be warranted if Rockhold beats Boetsch, and would be a rightful fight for a No. 1 contendership if Machida indeed gets the next fight after Vitor Belfort. I think it's quite likely we see that matchup again this summer.