Jacare Souza, like every other fighter in the UFC roster, is unsure as to how things will play out in the next few months. Souza is expected to face Uriah Hall at UFC 250 in Brazil - which will see his return to Middleweight after an unsuccessful Light Heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowicz.
His head coach Josuel Distak spoke to MMA Fighting and revealed that due to the Coronavirus outbreak, Souza and his teammates are training inside the Brazilian's garage in Florida:
“We continue to train hard because we weren’t told otherwise,” Distak said. “We expect this event to happen. We’re training well. The government ordered all gyms to close for two or three weeks but we have our plan B, a gym at ‘Jacare’s’ house, a garage with mats, and we’ll keep training for those three weeks at ‘Jacare’s’ garage.”
He admitted that the situation is messing with their heads:
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“We go from the hotel to his garage and straight back, and we’re being very careful,” Distak said. “Our biggest concern is about Brazil because it doesn’t have the structure that we have in America. … That’s messing with our heads.”
It's a hard time for everyone involved. One can only imagine the uncertainty of the situation and fighters training while not knowing whether they'll be able to compete or not. UFC delaying the upcoming events in London and Columbus certainly adds to the speculation. Ultimately, it's a big payday that they miss out on and hopefully, UFC can compensate fighters and their trainers accordingly.
It's a costly affair, but one that's needed at this time. It's not just trainers but various employees who could be at risk. Whether or not UFC decides to go through with the event in Brazil is yet to be seen. Either way, it's a tricky situation to be in now.