Missing the gi, Jaca dreams of farewell match

Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza / Photo: Daren Bartlett

“You better believe it, I’ve quit submission grappling,” Ronaldo Jacaré would say on Sunday, while other submission grappling aces sweat it out on the mats to determine the champions of ADCC 2011, in Nottingham, England. (Missed some of the official results? Find them here.)

“Didn’t I say before that I’d take some time off from Jiu-Jitsu and just do MMA? When I say I’m going to do something, I mean it; I’m not going to compete in the ADCC anymore. Now it’s time to focus on making it to the top of the MMA heap,” the star of the 2011 supermatch tells us. Having made the decision, Jacaré now wraps up his trophy mantel with runner-up at under-88kg in 2003, the title in 2005, runner-up in the absolute in 2005, triumph in the 2009 supermatch, and a loss in the 2011 supermatch. Two golds and three silvers. Not bad, huh?

But what about the longing, Jacaré? Could it not strike and perhaps prompt him to reconsider? “What I really long for is the gi… That’s got me bad. That’s why I’d be down for a farewell match before truly calling it quits, if it were to be held in the Maracanãzinho gymnasium or if some other big event were down for it.

Who would you like to see Ronaldo Jacaré face in his Gi Jiu-Jitsu farewell, dear reader? Comment below.