Ronaldo Souza is not concerned about his standing with the UFC.
The longtime middleweight contender doesn’t think his job with the Las Vegas-based promotion will be on the line on Saturday night when he takes on Kevin Holland at UFC 256.
There’s been plenty of speculation on which fighters could potentially lose their job with the UFC before the year’s end, as UFC president Dana White told the media the organization was planning to cut 60 fighters from their inflated roster.
One of the recent casualties was top contender Yoel Romero, a man to whom Souza (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) once lost. Like Romero, Souza is in his 40s and coming off losses.
Yet despite the similarities, the 41-year-old Souza is says his situation is much different than Romero’s.
“No, for me it’s normal, I’m in a different situation,” Souza told reporters Wednesday at the UFC 256 virtual media day. “I have a fight coming up, Romero turned down many fights and many events because he couldn’t fight. So I’m in a different situation, but I’m ready for whatever the UFC puts in front (of me).
“I’m working, I did a very hard and good training camp and I’m going to show to the UFC and everyone who I am and the champ.”
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Souza was originally scheduled to take on Marvin Vettori at UFC 256. Vettori ended up fighting a week earlier against Jack Hermansson and Holland was moved back a week to meet Souza as he was unable to compete earlier due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Swapping Vettori for Holland is a big style change, but Souza is ready to prove he still belongs among the best middleweights in the world.
“Vettori is left handed, Holland is a right handed,” Souza said. “Vettori has short arms, Holland is a tall, long guy, but I did a very hard training camp for this guy. I brought big guys that helped me so I trained gard. I’m ready to fight against Holland. Lets go.”
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