Ronaldo Souza transitioned to MMA in 2003, competing for UFC from 2013 to 2021.
51 Facts About Ronaldo Souza
2.
Ronaldo Souza was born in Vila Velha, Brazil, into a cafuzo family and was raised in Cariacica, Brazil.
3.
Ronaldo Souza had a rough upbringing, and on the day he turned 15, he saw one of his good friends get shot to death.
4.
Ronaldo Souza is an eight-time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion, including gold medals in the Openweight class in 2003,2004 and 2005.
5.
Ronaldo Souza made his mixed martial arts debut on September 9,2003, at Jungle Fight's inaugural event where he lost to Jorge "Macaco" Patino by KO at 3:13 into the first round.
6.
Ronaldo Souza returned to mixed martial arts eight months later at Jungle Fight 2 securing a submission win over Victor Babkir under a minute into the first round.
7.
Ronaldo Souza's next fight was in April 2006 at Jungle Fight 6 where he got his second win, defeating Alexander Shlemenko by an arm triangle choke submission.
8.
Ronaldo Souza went on to fight twice before the end of 2006, winning both fights by submission during the first round.
9.
In 2006, Ronaldo Souza fought and drew with UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture in a grappling contest.
10.
Ronaldo Souza accepted and started training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
11.
Ronaldo Souza's first fight of 2007 was on May 19 with him scoring a submission win due to strikes over veteran Bill Vucick at Gracie Fighting Championships: Evolution.
12.
In 2008, Ronaldo Souza signed with Japanese MMA-promotion DREAM and was scheduled to participate in the 2008 DREAM Middleweight Grand-Prix.
13.
Ronaldo Souza was awarded a unanimous decision victory which secured him a place in the semi-final of the Middleweight Grand-Prix.
14.
Ronaldo Souza fought in the DREAM Middleweight Championship in a rematch with Jason Miller at DREAM 9 after Gegard Mousasi vacated the title when moving up to Light Heavyweight.
15.
Ronaldo Souza made his Strikeforce debut on December 19,2009, at Strikeforce: Evolution with a first-round submission win over Matt Lindland, via arm-triangle choke.
16.
Ronaldo Souza faced Joey Villasenor on May 15,2010, at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery.
17.
Ronaldo Souza won the fight via unanimous decision, dominating the first round, being very aggressive, achieving the mount position and almost achieving the submission, but slowed down on the 2nd and 3rd round.
18.
Ronaldo Souza fought Tim Kennedy on August 21,2010, at Strikeforce: Houston for the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight Championship, and won via unanimous decision.
19.
Ronaldo Souza then defended the belt for the first time against Robbie Lawler, on January 29,2011, at Strikeforce: Diaz vs Cyborg.
20.
On March 3,2012, Ronaldo Souza made his sixth Strikeforce appearance against late replacement Bristol Marunde.
21.
Ronaldo Souza won via arm-triangle choke, submitting Marunde at 2:43 of the final round.
22.
Ronaldo Souza dropped Brunson early with a counter right hand which planted Brunson on the mat and landed three ground strikes, knocking out Brunson in just 41 seconds.
23.
Ronaldo Souza faced UFC veteran Ed Herman at the final Strikeforce card, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs Saffiedine, on January 12,2013.
24.
Ronaldo Souza signed a five-fight deal with the UFC in January 2013.
25.
Ronaldo Souza was expected to make his promotional debut against Costas Philippou on May 18,2013, at UFC on FX 8.
26.
Ronaldo Souza next knocked out Yushin Okami in the first round on September 4,2013, at UFC Fight Night 28.
27.
Ronaldo Souza beat Francis Carmont by unanimous decision on February 15,2014, at UFC Fight Night 36.
28.
Ronaldo Souza was expected to rematch Gegard Mousasi on August 2,2014, at UFC 176.
29.
Ronaldo Souza won via submission in the third round, earning his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
30.
Ronaldo Souza was expected to face Yoel Romero on February 28,2015, at UFC 184.
31.
Ronaldo Souza instead rematched returning veteran Chris Camozzi, submitting him with a first-round armbar.
32.
Ronaldo Souza faced Vitor Belfort on May 14,2016, at UFC 198.
33.
Ronaldo Souza won the fight via TKO in the first round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.
34.
Ronaldo Souza was expected to face Luke Rockhold in a rematch on November 27,2016, at UFC Fight Night 101.
35.
Ronaldo Souza faced Tim Boetsch on February 11,2017, at UFC 208.
36.
Ronaldo Souza won the fight via submission in the first round.
37.
Ronaldo Souza fought Robert Whittaker on April 15,2017, at UFC on Fox 24.
38.
Ronaldo Souza faced Kelvin Gastelum on May 12,2018, at UFC 224.
39.
Ronaldo Souza was expected to face David Branch on November 3,2018, at UFC 230.
40.
However, on October 19,2018, It was reported that Ronaldo Souza replaced injured Luke Rockhold to face Chris Weidman in the event.
41.
Ronaldo Souza won the fight via knockout in the third round.
42.
Ronaldo Souza was scheduled to face Yoel Romero on April 27,2019, at UFC on ESPN 3.
43.
Ronaldo Souza remained on the card and faced Jack Hermansson in the main event at UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs Hermansson.
44.
Ronaldo Souza was scheduled to face Uriah Hall for a middleweight bout on April 18,2020, at UFC 249.
45.
Ronaldo Souza was expected to face Marvin Vettori on December 12,2020, at UFC 256.
46.
However, the bout was scrapped when it was revealed Vettori would be serving as a late replacement to face Jack Hermansson at UFC on ESPN 19 and Ronaldo Souza instead faced Kevin Holland.
47.
Ronaldo Souza lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
48.
Ronaldo Souza faced Andre Muniz on May 15,2021, at UFC 262.
49.
Ronaldo Souza lost the fight via technical submission in the first round after his arm snapped while trapped in an armbar.
50.
Ronaldo Souza was booked to compete in his boxing debut against fellow MMA veteran Vitor Belfort at Gamebred Boxing 4 on April 1,2023.
51.
On October 8,2020, Ronaldo Souza revealed the plans to start his own BJJ Academy in Orlando, Florida.