Bruno Souza couldn’t deliver under the UFC banner, losing both matches inside the octagon between 2021 and 2022, and “The Tiger” couldn’t deal well with the frustration of not getting a call back despite becoming a two-division champion at Urijah Faber’s A1 promotion. In the ent, that almost ruined his career.
Souza won four MMA bouts since parting ways with the UFC, including a pair of victories over fellow UFC veterans Teruto Ishihara and Wilson Reis, but went to a dark place in his life. The karate specialist opened up on his personal struggles ahead of Friday’s match with Dennis Linton at A1 in Wheatland, Calif.
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“I’m happy today. I wasn’t before, man,” Souza told MMA Fighting. “I went through a really rough period mentally last year, even though I was winning and doing things right. I won two belts here at A1, but there was always that frustration with the UFC, with going back to the UFC. It got to a point where I didn’t even want to fight anymore because I didn’t want to go through the frustration of fighting, winning, and not getting called back. I’ve done a lot of work with my team, my psychologist, my wife, so I don’t put my happiness about fighting in the hands of whether or not I returned to the UFC.”
The 29-year-old said he “obviously” wants to get another chance in the UFC one day, but making that his No. 1 priority wasn’t helping.
“For at least a year, it was always kind of like, ‘one more and I’m back,’” Souza said. “Even if I didn’t say it out loud, that’s what was in my head. You go out there, you get a finish, you put on a great fight, and you still never go back. I had to understand that — first of all, the UFC, Sean Shelby, nobody has anything for or against anyone. It’s about being the right piece to fit. I’m not that young anymore, I probably won’t get in through the Contender Series, so I need a fight where they actually need an opponent.”
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“You have to be very patient,” he continued. “I want to go back, of course. I want to fight in the best promotion. When I was a kid, I didn’t play with toys, I played like I was walking out to fight, like I was choosing my walkout song and doing the whole performance. That was my idea of fun. I had to do a lot of work to understand that I’m living the dream. No matter where I’m fighting, I’m living that kid’s dream. Whether I’m where I want to be yet or not, I have to value that.”
Souza was scheduled to face Ethyn Ewing in October of 2025, five months after claiming his second A1 belt, but withdrew from the card. Now on a better place, “The Tiger” admits he was dealing with “mental issues.”
“I just couldn’t do it,” Souza said. “I cried every day, saying, ‘I don’t want to fight.’ It had nothing to do with Ethan, nothing to do with the promotion. I understood later, of course, that I didn’t want to go through the frustration again of winning and not being called back to the UFC. It’s no secret that I don’t make money fighting, right? it’s very hard to have anything truly profitable outside of the UFC. Karate Combat paid a little better, but still not that much. I really like Karate Combat, but I missed MMA.
“I studied civil engineering, I had a company in Brazil with my wife. If I go back to that, whether I’m happy or not, I’ll be building a future. And I’m giving all of that up — nine years giving up everything in my life since I started doing this — to persist in this dream. I look at my wife, far away from her family, all the problems of being here, of being an immigrant here. And at the same time grinding, working, teaching classes, doing whatever it takes to pay the bills. At some point, you get tired. There was a moment when I thought, ‘If I’m not going back to the UFC, then why am I doing this?’ And that’s when there was a huge crash.
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“I was extremely lucky to have a wife who supports me unconditionally, who tells me the hard truths that need to be said, who argues when it’s time to argue. But I also have all my friends, my team, my managers — who are my friends —, and I talk very openly with them about everything. They all gave me a lot of support and said, ‘Just keep doing it and have fun.’ And that’s all I want, to fight and have fun. I’m sure that if I keep winning and there’s nothing they can do. I’ll go back to the UFC. Anxiety just makes you want it to happen sooner. Keep going, man. I’ll win 20 fights in a row. I’ll get there one way or the other.”
Souza feels he’s in his prime as a bantamweight and his performances are now better than past “boring” MMA victories from early in his career. A former featherweight champion in both LFA and A1 and bantamweight titleholder in A1, Souza said he’s “a great fighter at 145, but a great fighter and a great athlete at 135”.
“My goal is to return to the UFC,” Souza said. “I want to be a world champion. As long as I’m fighting, I’ll want to be a world champion. But that can’t be the motivation. My motivation to fight had become going back there. My motivation has to be enjoying it. Fight day is the best day of my life. And it’s a strategy I’ve already thought about: ‘What if I beat all the champions around me?’ They’ll have to sign me eventually. But that can’t be the motivation. And of course, [Tuff N Uff champion] Diego Brandão, [BORROKA champion Juan] Archuleta, Dennis [Linton], whoever else. My wall has plenty of space for belts [laughs].”
