UFC
UFC Fight Night 50's Jacare Souza not in a hurry for a title bout, but thinks he'll be next in line with a win
Sep 2, 2014 - 12:40:29 PM UFC Fight Night 50's Jacare Souza not in a hurry for a title bout, but thinks he'll be next in line with a win

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza gets his first main event in the UFC on Friday night in Connecticut, taking on Gegard Mousasi at UFC Fight Night 50.

Though the two faced off once before years ago in Japan, Souza says they've remained friends in the time since that fight. However, Souza says he didn't hesitate to take the fight.

"I've never denied a fight," Souza said in an interview with FoxSports.com. "They called me and said I was going to get my first main event against Mousasi and I was really happy. I knew that this fight would happen sooner or later because we were on the top of the division and we would have to fight.

"In Japan, I helped him to cut weight and after that I fought Mousasi on the same day. That's part of the sport. If he needs help this fight cutting weight, I will help him again no problem. We are friends out of the Octagon and we fight inside the Octagon. That's part of the sport. A few months ago, Mousasi was here in Brazil and we had lunch together. We're friends and that's just part of the sport."

A win in the fight keeps him among the top fighters in the division, and though he's not trying to rush a title opportunity, he believes he'll be next in line should he get past Mousasi.

"There's no hurry for me to fight for the belt," he said. "This is just my fourth fight inside the UFC... In fact, I don't know the UFC's plans. I cannot say that but looking at the UFC rankings, I'll be next."

Penick's Analysis: The only way I see Jacare getting skipped over for the next shot - should he beat Mousasi, of course - would be if Luke Rockhold beats Lyoto Machida in that proposed matchup this fall. Rockhold holds a win over Souza already, so that gives him a slight edge, and beating Machida would be a bigger win in the UFC than Souza's had thus far. Still, Jacare will have a very good argument for the next title fight if he beats Mousasi on Friday night, and that's what he'll be focused on.