Top Middleweight Contender ‘Jacare’ Souza Inks New Eight-Fight UFC Contract

Ronaldo Souza won’t be reuniting with old boss Scott Coker in Bellator MMA anytime soon.

The UFC middleweight contender signed a new eight-fight contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion on Thursday, according to MMAFighting.com. “Jacare” later confirmed the deal via Twitter.

Muito feliz! Contrato renovado com o UFC. Vamos para mais algumas batalhas! #TimeJacaré
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I'm very happy! New... https://t.co/UCkWCbBm3T

— Ronaldo Jacaré (@JacareMMA) April 14, 2017

Souza was on the final bout of his previous contract heading into his UFC on Fox 24 showdown with Robert Whittaker, prompting speculation that the 37-year-old Brazilian could be Bellator bound after Saturday night. Souza previously worked with Coker, the current Bellator boss, during an eight-fight stint with Strikeforce from 2009 to 2013.

“I’m very happy,” Souza wrote. “New contract signed with the UFC. Let’s go for some more battles.”

The ex-Strikeforce champion has been victorious in seven of his eight Octagon appearances thus far. Souza’s only defeat during that time came in a contentious split decision loss to Yoel Romero at UFC 194. Since then, “Jacare” has scored back-to-back first-round finishes of Vitor Belfort and Tim Boetsch.

Souza’s UFC on Fox 24 matchup with Whittaker is scheduled to be the second bout on the evening’s Fox-televised main card, which begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. UFC on Fox 24 takes place at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., and is headlined by a flyweight title bout between Demetrious Johnson and Wilson Reis.