Jacare Souza's manager wanted Michael Bisping to step in for Yoel Romero

The highly anticipated middleweight showdown between Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza and Yoel Romero was scrapped due to a torn knee ligament forcing 'Soldier of God' to withdraw from Saturday's Fox broadcast. With Ronaldo Souza craving a return to the Octagon after pneumonia halted his championship aspirations in January, the UFC chose Chris Camozzi to fight Jacare for the 2nd time in 2 years.

Prior to the announcement, Gilberto Faria - Jacare's manager - asked Michael Bisping to step up to the plate.

"He's the kind of guy that has balls and wouldn't say no to a fight. Looking at all the other guys out there right now that would be a great fight for 'Jacare' and someone that would be ready by April 18. That person that crossed my mind to get people excited -- to get 'Jacare' excited -- is Michael Bisping. If that happens, it'll be a great show. We'll see", Faria told MMAFighting.

With Jacare conquering his battle with pneumonia earlier in the year, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist doesn't want any more complications delaying his title-shot aspirations. Faira expressed Souza's willingness to step in and fight a top contender replacement on April 18.

"'Jacare' is ready to fight the best. "'Jacare' is ready to fight the champ right now. He wants to fight someone at the top or else it makes no sense", Souza's manager affirmed to MMAFighting.

Michael Bisping is already booked up with C.B. Dollaway on April 25 for the afflicted UFC 186 card. With the UFC 186 pay-per-view already on shaky grounds, Bisping is staying put on the Montreal show, but he was unlikely to compete on short notice anyway. Bisping's manager Audie Altar had this to say on Saturday:

"We trained for C.B. Dollaway and that's only a couple weeks out. To switch it out for 'Jacare' doesn't make sense, but we'd love to fight him after this fight. Everybody wants a piece of Bisping. Bisping is so marketable. People just want that. They want that opportunity. It's their right to want that and likewise. Mike definitely would love to face him. He's definitely on the list."

UFC on Fox 15 will feature Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold as the main attraction, with Cub Swanson and Max Holloway also featured on the main card, but Jacare/Camozzi will remain the co-main event. Many of the top middleweight combatants are already booked for future cards, leaving the UFC with an undesirable Camozzi rematch.