Jacare responds to Bisping criticism
Jacare: “[Michael Bisping] is in the UFC for a long time, but that means nothing. I fought the guy that knocked him out, so no way he’s in front of me.”
When Chris Weidman withdrew from the title fight vs. champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, the UFC offered the shot to ‘Jacare’ Souza. However, Jacare declined, citing upcoming knee surgery. The offer then went to Michael Bisping, who was in the middle of shooting a Hollywood movie, but accepted.
Bisping then started the process of getting asses in seats around a PPV screen. This involves a lot of trash talk, and Jacare got dragged into it, with Bisping saying he should have stepped up when called.
Now in an interview with Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting, The Crocodile strikes back.
“I was devastated because I did the MRI on May 16 and on May 17 I got the news that Weidman was injured,” said Souza. “If I knew about it, I wouldn’t even do the MRI [laughs]. I had to open the black box to see what was going on with my knee.
“It was a clean surgery, and I’m walking normally now. I had to do this surgery. I had a meniscus injury, and it would definitely get worse if I didn’t do this now. I was physically well in the fight, could move normally. Everybody has injuries going into a fight, it’s impossible to be 100 percent, but thank God I had the best strategy and won.”
“I was going to say yes (and fight at UFC 199), but the MRI was done. I couldn’t just ignore the results. Healthy first. I’m a Christian man, so I prayed. Whatever was in the MRI results would determine my future, if I would take the fight or not. The doctor told me ‘you fought Belfort for five minutes and can’t walk now. Imagine yourself fighting Rockhold for 25 minutes. You’ll lose your leg’. I decided not to fight because of my health.”
“(Bisping) is in the UFC for a long time, but that means nothing. I fought the guy that knocked him out, so no way he’s in front of me. The guys I beat are tougher than the ones he defeated. Time means nothing, what really means is what you’ve done to earn it. I earned it. They called me on short notice and I couldn’t take it, but I’m next. No need to say anything else. My loss to Romero was a robbery and then he got caught. Weidman won’t return until November. And I beat Vitor up, so I’m next.”
“Rockhold keeps the title. He has a good win over Bisping, and I believe he will keep the belt. (Bisping) is a phenomenal athlete and defeated great fighters. He’s underestimated by many people, but I don’t underestimate him. I know what he can do. I believe he will do a great fight with Rockhold. Bisping is tough, deserves respect. If you let him come, he will do it until the end and might win. But everything indicates that Rockhold will keep the title. Rockhold holds an impressive victory over Bisping. But at this level we can’t underestimate anyone.”
