By FCF Staff

After losing to Jan Blachowicz at UFC Sao Paulo on Saturday, “Jacare” Souza has released a statement, in which he apologized to his team and supporters.

The former middleweight contender moved up to 205 to face Blachowicz in the headliner, and Souza lost the close contest via split decision. Since then, the decorated grappler released the following statement (translation via MMA Mania):

“First I would like to thank God for this fight, thank the Brazilian fans for the love I received that keeps me increasingly motivated to fight, also my great team that gave me all the support to be here fighting @josueldistak @mssteam @db_dezan @ jwill1224 @phillyfreshufc @iam__coachjt @ rafaellima91kg @stones_drink @drrodrigomauro @carladipierro . Let’s move on correcting the errors and coming back even stronger for the next! @ufc_brasil”

“I apologize to you, I tried to do my best.”

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Gostaria de agradecer primeiramente a Deus por mais essa luta, agradecer o carinho que recebi dos fãs Brasileiros isso que me deixa cada vez mais motivado em lutar, também a minha grande equipe que me deu todo suporte para estar aqui lutando @josueldistak @mssteam @db_dezan @jwill1224 @phillyfreshufc @iam__coachjt @rafaellima91kg @dede_pederneiras @drrodrigomauro @carladipierro Vamos em frente corrigir os erros e voltar ainda mais forte para a próxima! 🇧🇷🐊 @ufc_brasil ・・・ "Peço perdão para vocês, eu tentei dar o melhor de mim". @RonaldoJacare 🇧🇷 #

A post shared by Ronaldo “Jacaré” 🐊 Souza (@ronaldojacare) on Nov 17, 2019 at 3:07am PST

With the defeat, the 39-year-old Souza’s record now stands at 26-8.