Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza

Ronaldo Jacaré starred in one of the most memorable finals in Worlds history. In 2004, his first year at black belt, he faced Roger Gracie in the open class final, was caught in an armlock that injured his elbow, refused to tap and won 4-2. Years later Roger recalled: “There was one minute left, and he refused to tap, and the referee didn’t stop the fight.” In 2005 Jacaré won the medium-heavyweight title and the open class again, beating Roger once more in the final, 2-0.

Born on December 7, 1979, in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, he moved to Manaus at 15. His nickname comes from the alligator symbol of ASLE, his first team, led by Henrique Machado, who gave him his black belt in 2003 after he won the brown belt weight class and open class at the Worlds. He is also a judo black belt. In 2004 he lost the medium-heavyweight final to Braulio Estima, whom he beat the following year.

At ADCC he won the under-88 kg title in 2005, beating Demian Maia in the final, and was runner-up in the absolute, losing to Roger. In 2004 he also won the Pans and the Brazilian Nationals, and in 2005 the Europeans. He was inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame in 2024.

In MMA he was Strikeforce middleweight champion from 2010 to 2011 and became one of the top names in the UFC middleweight division, with wins over Vitor Belfort, Derek Brunson and Chris Weidman. He finished 26-10 with one no contest and announced his retirement from MMA in August 2021.