Jacare will now face Chris Camozzi in the UFC on FX 8 co-main event. Photo by Esther Lin.

One day may be enough to change a UFC considerably. Having confirmed an injury to the eye of Costa Philipou, and the withdrawal of the same event occurring in Jaragua do Sul on May 18, the question was: Who will step up to face Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza just two weeks from the event?

The solution came from within the event itself. Chris Camozzi, who was to face Rafael Natal, will instead challenge the UFC-debuting Brazilian. GRACIEMAG.com confirmed with Camozzi coach Diego Moraes, and he analyzed the current scenario of his pupil.

“Rafael Natal is a great athlete, hard on the ground, but the Jacare is a monster in Jiu-Jitsu, one of the best of all time,” Moraes said. “I unfortunately could not stay long with Camozzi, but I’ll be there with him. And strategy is the same: Work hard on the feet, but if the fight goes to the ground, I’m sure Chris will be ready.”

Jacare (17-3, 1 N.C.) has 10 finishes in 17 victories. He arrives in the UFC after the end of Strikeforce, where in his last appearance he finished Ed Herman in the first round.

Camozzi (19-5) has four straight wins in the UFC, including ones over Luis Banha, Nick Catone, and in his last fight, beating Nick Ring at UFC 158. He is a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu.

In Camozzi’s place, Natal will now face João Zeferino.

UFC on FX 8
Jaragua Arena, Jaragua do Sul, SC 
May 18, 2013

• Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold
• Ronaldo Jacare vs. Chris Camozzi
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Evan Dunham
• Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs. João Zeferino

Preliminary Card

• Nik Lentz vs. Hacran Days
• Francisco Massaranduba vs. Mike Rio
• Paulo Thiago vs. Michel Tractor
• John Lineker vs. Azamat Gashimov
• Fabio Maldonado vs. Roger Hollett
• Gleison Tibau vs. John Cholish
• Yuri Marajó Iliarde vs dos Santos
• Jussier Ant vs. Chris Cariaso
• Luke Miner vs. Jeremy Larsen

Look back at the days when some MMA stars got into character, and draw your own conclusions.

1. Anderson “Michael Jackson” Silva

A declared Michael Jackson fan, the “Spider” unleashed his dancer side back when he was fighting in Japan at Pride FC. As he walked out to the ring, Silva dressed the part and was just as deft with his step as he is with his fists. Does he or doesn’t he take the throne?

2. “Brave” Ronaldo Jacaré and “Chief” FabrícioWerdum

Native outfits are standard fare at carnival festivities across Brazil. In the picture below, taken in 2003, Manaus native Ronaldo Jacaré and the Porto Alegre-born Fabrício Werdum made the most of their free time before Jungle Fight 1 to let their warrior sides show through.

Jacaré and Werdum sporting native garb (photo by Marcelo Dunlop/GRACIEMAG)

3. “Frankantônio-Hulk” Silva

Team Nogueira representative Antônio “Bigfoot” showed he’s got no problem with get-ups that are extensions of his physical characteristics. In the image below, we have two distinct situations where the giant from the Brazilian State of Paraíba’s costume fit like a glove.

“Bigfoot” dressed as Hulk and Frankenstein (photo taken from Twitter)

What about you, have you crossed paths with a UFC star in costume in Brazil? Send the Facebook link in to us so we can see!

For more UFC and MMA coverage,
visit GRACIEMAG.com’s Choke MMA section

Jacare has new opponent at Strikeforce’s January 12 event. Photo by Esther Lin/Forza LLC/Forza LLC via Getty Images

And now it’s official.

Strikeforce will hold their Jan. 12 event, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, and it will be the final event by the company on Showtime, the MMA promotion announced today.

“Since 2009, Showtime has been a great partner and we appreciate its support of Strikeforce and our athletes,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said in the release. “For our final event, we’ve loaded the card with some outstanding fights. This is going to be a memorable night for the sport of mixed martial arts.”

Reports of Strikeforce’s demise began to surface over a month ago, but representatives from Showtime have continued to say MMA will continue on the cable company. Today’s announcement means that Showtime may carry on with the sport, but it will not include Strikeforce.

The Jan. 12 card is finalized with 11 fights, and is headlined by welterweight champion Nate Marquardt defending his title against Tarec Saffiedine. In the co-main event, Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier will face Dion Staring.

One of the previously reported matches, Lorenz Larkin vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, was removed from the card, but the release did not stipulate why. GRACIEMAG.com confirmed with Larkin’s manager, Arnold DeWitt, that the fighter sustained a knee injury in training and won’t be able to return for several weeks.

According to Strikeforce’s official website, Jacare’s new opponent will be Ed Herman.

The final Strikeforce event will take place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.

For more UFC and MMA coverage,

visit GRACIEMAG.com’s Choke MMA section

Jacaré in photo by Esther Lin

Two-time absolute world champion of Jiu-Jitsu Ronaldo Jacarétries for another important achievement this Saturday, when he faces Tim Kennedy in the cage at Strikeforce: Houston.

Jaca has had a shot at an important belt on two prior occasions. On his first chance, at Japan’s Dream promotion, he ended up losing to Gegard Mousasi. On his second, his fight with Jason Miller ended in a no contest after an illegal blow thrown by the American. Will his third shot be a charm? Jacaré thinks so:

“I’ve been training really hard for this fight. Tim’s a great fighter. I don’t know if I’ll win by submission or knockout, but I trained for it,” says the middleweight.

“He’s a good wrestler and has good ground skills. He’s a strong opponent. The belt deserves a good fight and I know Tim and I will have one,” he adds.

Kennedy in photo by Esther Lin

Concerned about the ground skills possessed by his opponent, the current ADCC superfight champion, Tim Kennedy is on his toes.

“I brought in some of the best guys I could to train Jiu-Jitsu. My camp over the last few months was set up to face one of the best grapplers in MMA history. I didn’t do anything else but prepare for Jacaré. I trained three times a day and I’m much stronger and quicker than ever,” he warns.

Check out the complete card of the event:

Strikeforce
Houston, Texas,
August 21, 2010

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs Rafael “Feijão” Cavalcante
Tim Kennedy vs Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza
Jorge Gurgel vs K.J. Noons
Chad Griggs vs Bobby Lashley
Daniel Cormier vs Jason Riley
Andre Galvão vs Jorge Patino
Rocky Long vs Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes
Kier Gooch vs Adam Schindler
Jose Santibanez vs Reynaldo Trujillo
Humberto DeLeon vs Chad Robichaux

(Collaborator: Nalty Jr)