Jack Hermansson outlines goals after defeating ‘Jacare’

Jack Hermansson picked up the biggest victory of his career over the weekend, walloping former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to a unanimous decision victory in the short-notice UFC Fort Lauderdale main event.

While this victory surprised a great many onlookers, Hermansson himself sees it as the result of more than a decade of hard work.

“I just trusted my skills that I built up throughout these years and I didn’t need a full camp,” he said post-fight (transcript via Sherdog). “Because those skills that I have, they were built up from 10 years of practice, not from a camp.

“This was pretty much what I expected for this fight,” he added. “I was expecting to hit him more than he would hit me, but I know that he was going to throw hard and he caught me a couple of times. It was dangerous in there. I know that I am trickier, more intelligent and more versatile than he is, and I think that is what I showed tonight.”

This victory is likely to send Hermansson hurtling up the UFC middleweight rankings — especially when paired with his recent defeat of former World Series of Fighting champ David Branch.

From here, he says his goal is simply to take on another top middleweight and hopefully push himself closer to a middleweight title shot.

“Now I am expecting another top name,” he stated. “I want to continue climbing up and get to the title. I have four first-round finishes. I have a win on short notice against one of the top guys in the world and I think that’s enough to put me right there on the top and to be one of the contenders.”

Who do you want to see Jack Hermansson fight next after UFC Fort Lauderdale?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 4/28/2019.