The next engagement of two-time absolute BJJ world champion Ronaldo Jacaré has been announced by the UFC. He will be one of the big names of UFC 224, slated to take place in Rio de Janeiro on May 12th.
He will be facing the dangerous Kelvin Gastelum in a three-round bout that may define who is next in line to for the middleweight belt. The division is chaotic at the moment. The champion, Robert Whittaker, is recovering from health problems. The interim belt, fought for by Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero, hasn’t been made official, because Romero beat Rockhold but didn’t make weight. So it is possible for the winner of Jacaré vs. Gastelum to cut in line and fight Whittaker once he’s feeling better.
Jacaré (25w, 5l, 1nc), the current No. 2 fighter in the UFC rankings, is coming off a convincing first-round knockout over Derek Brunson. Gastelum (14w, 3l, 1nc) last fought and beat Michael Bisping, who had lost his belt to Georges St-Pierre.
