Jiu-jitsu ace Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza not only suffered the first submission loss of his MMA career against Andre Muniz on Saturday night at UFC 262, but also suffered a broken arm in the process.
‘Jacare’ confirmed to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani yesterday that he broke his arm above the elbow during the fight-ending submission and will now undergo surgery today.
“The UFC is giving me all the support,” Souza said. “When the world stopped, the UFC was moving and taking care of all the athletes,” he added while confirming that he was ok and not in pain.
Meanwhile, his opponent Muniz has said that due to the decorated BJJ master’s reputation and character, he knew that he would have to up the ante if he wanted to submit him.
“Since I know him very well, I knew that it had to go like this,” Muniz said at the UFC 262 post-fight press conference. “If I had a choke or a submission, he was going to go unconscious or I would have to break his arm.
“I forced the armbar, and I didn’t think his arm was going to break, but it happened. I wish him the best, and I hope he comes back fast. Best wishes to him in his recovery.”
Muniz extended his UFC record to 3-0 with the victory, while also racking up the 14th submission win of his career, but there’s no doubt that all the other ones pale in comparison to this high-profile finish.