Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza: By The Numbers

Ronaldo Souza has a familiar target in his crosshairs.

Still scaling the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight ladder, “Jacare” will rematch Derek Brunson in the UFC on Fox 27 main event this Saturday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Souza needed just 41 seconds to dispatch Brunson with punches in their first encounter under the Strikeforce banner in 2012. The two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist joined the UFC roster less than a year later and has since compiled a 7-2 record in nine appearances inside the Octagon. Souza last competed on April 15, when he succumbed to a second-round head kick and follow-up punches from Robert Whittaker at UFC on Fox 24.

As “Jacare” moves toward his second meeting with Brunson in the Queen City, here are some of the numbers that have come to define him:

2: Wins over former UFC champions. Souza submitted Robbie Lawler with a rear-naked choke at Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Cyborg” on Jan. 29, 2011 and disposed of Vitor Belfort with punches at UFC 198 on May 14, 2016.

3: Middleweights ahead of “Jacare” in the latest UFC rankings: Whittaker, 2000 Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero and American Kickboxing Academy ace Luke Rockhold.

4: Men other than Souza who captured the Strikeforce middleweight championship. They were Rockhold, Frank Shamrock, Cung Le and Jake Shields.

6: Wins by knockout or technical knockout. They account for a quarter of Souza’s career total.

8: Organizations in which “Jacare” has competed as a professional mixed martial artist. They are the UFC, Strikeforce, Dream, Jungle Fight, Hero’s the Jungle, Amazon Challenge, Gracie Fighting Championships and Fury Fighting Championship.

14: Wins by submission. They account for 58 percent of his career total. “Jacare” has put away four opponents with arm-triangle chokes, three with armbars, three with rear-naked chokes, two with kimuras, one with a guillotine choke and one with a triangle choke.

10: Consecutive victories between May 15, 2004 and Sept. 23, 2008, marking the longest such streak of Souza’s career. He enjoyed an eight-fight tear from March 3, 2012 to April 18, 2015.

17: First-round finishes on his resume. Yushin Okami, 2000 Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland and former Bellator MMA middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko were among the victims.

38: Years of age. Souza was born in Espiritos Santos, Brazil, on Dec. 7, 1979.

128: Combined victories between the five men -- Romero (12), Rockhold (16), Whittaker (19), Gegard Mousasi (43) and Jorge Patino (38) -- who have defeated Souza.