Win or lose next week, it appears as though Ronaldo Souza is headed to the UFC this year.
According to Souza’s manager, Gilberto Faria, the fighter more commonly known as “Jacare” has signed a new five-fight contract with Forza LLC, a subsidiary of Zuffa LLC, which is the parent company of the UFC. Forza LLC is the parent company of Strikeforce, however, Strikeforce will cease operations as of next week.
Souza is scheduled to meet UFC veteran Ed Herman at the final Strikeforce card next Saturday night in Oklahoma City, OK. That fight was the last one on his old contract.
Faria told MMAFighting.com that the hope is that once Strikeforce closes its doors next weekend, the contract will be transferred over to the UFC, which has been the case with many other now former Strikeforce fighters. The contract extension certainly appears to be a vote of confidence from the Zuffa brass.
The 33-year-old Souza, a former Strikeforce middleweight champion, enters the Jan. 12 fight against Herman with a 16-3 (1 NC) record. He most recently knocked out Derek Brunson in 41 seconds in August.