Sherdog’s Top 10: Fighters Who Lost Their Pro Debuts

6. Ronaldo Souza
“Jacare” ranks as one of the premier submission specialists in MMA. He ran roughshod over the competition in Dream and Strikeforce and did the same in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, until he ran into Yoel Romero at UFC 194. Despite that loss, Souza remains one of the top middleweights in the sport and sits perhaps a breath or two away from vying for the 185-pound title inside the Octagon.

Souza was a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion when he made his MMA debut under the Jungle Fight banner, as he took on the vastly more experienced Jorge Patino on Sept. 13, 2003 and wound up on the wrong side of a one-punch knockout. “Jacare” rebounded with a 10-fight winning streak and became the Strikeforce middleweight champion in 2010, when he claimed a unanimous decision over Tim Kennedy across five rounds. His stellar resume now includes victories over Robbie Lawler, Gegard Mousasi, Yushin Okami, Matt Lindland and Derek Brunson.

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