‘Jacare’ Souza vs. Andre Muniz set for UFC 262

Ronaldo Souza will have his back against the wall when he faces fellow Brazilian middleweight Andre Muniz at UFC 262 in Houston on May 15, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Fighting following a report from Combate.

UFC 262 will take place at Houston’s Toyota Center and air live on pay-per-view, featuring Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler for the vacant lightweight championship.

“Jacare” Souza (26-9, 1 no contest) is on a three-fight losing skid under the UFC banner with defeats to Jack Hermansson, Jan Blachowicz — at light heavyweight — and Kevin Holland.

The former Strikeforce middleweight champion hasn’t won a fight since a third-round knockout over Chris Weidman in November 2018, dropping his overall UFC record to 9-6.

Muniz (20-4) won twice on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a deal with the UFC, and earned a decision victory over Antonio Arroyo before submitting Bartosz Fabinski inside one round in his most recent appearance in September 2020.

“Sergipano,” a teammate of Thiago Santos at Rio de Janeiro’s TFT, enters the biggest fight of his MMA career on a six-fight winning streak that includes four first-round stoppages.