This one is interesting… A middleweight bout between #3 ranked Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza and #14 ranked Tim Boetsch has been announced for UFC 208.
The announcement was made by UFC Officials earlier today.
‘Jacare’ (23-4 1NC MMA, 6-1 UFC) had a hugely successful Strikeforce career, where he held the middleweight title for a brief period, before transitioning over to the UFC. In his promotional debut, the Brazilian submitted Chriz Camozzi in May of 2013 before stopping Yushin Okami with strikes in September of the same year. A wide decision over Francis Carmont was followed by a submission over Gegard Mousasi before the 37-year-old tapped Chris Camozzi for a second time. ‘Jacare’ then faced Yoel Romero at UFC 194, but lost a split decision after a close fight. In his most recent bout, Souza stopped Vitor Belfort in the first round of their bout at UFC 198.
Boestch (20-10 MMA, 11-9 UFC) has struggled to put together any real consistent victories in his second stint with the promotion. He went 2-2 in his first stint. In his last five, Boetch is 3-2, but is in a good place currently. A loss to Thales Leites started his three fight skid, in which he was knocked out by Dan Henderson and then Ed Herman. Getting back on track, Boetsch stopped the now late Josh Samman via TKO in the second round. In his most recent outing, the 35-year-old stopped Rafael Natal via knockout in the first round of their bout at UFC 205.
UFC 208 takes place live from the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York on February 11, 2017. The card is set to be headlined by the first ever Women’s Featherweight Championship fight between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie.
