UFC Quick Quote: Ronaldo Souza says Luke Rockhold shouldn't be the one fighting Chris Weidman at UFC 194

"Absolutely. He absolutely leapfrogged me, he shouldn't be next. It should be me. It's about time, my friend. I have this tough fight ahead of me. I won't be a hypocrite to say it's going to be an easy fight. I'm ready for a tough war, I'm ready to fight three rounds and suffer, but I'm ready to win. Man, I think about getting the title, against Chris or Luke. It doesn't matter. Everybody talks about rematch, but to me that fight is in the past. I look ahead. But it would be cool to have an opportunity to fight Rockhold again. I called him out several times in Strikeforce and I don't know why this fight never happened, but I believe it can happen sooner or later. It's a tough fight for the champion. Rockhold is an impressive fighter, he keeps his pace during the fight and that can complicate anyone, including Weidman, but I believe the champion has more chances to retain his title."

Those were the words of Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza speaking in Portuguese (and translated by Guilherme Cruz) to a scrum of reporters during a UFC 194 media day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Souza's last defeat came Sept. 10, 2011, losing the Strikeforce middleweight belt in a five round war against Luke Rockhold. Since then, the 22-3 fighter has won eight in a row, including all five of his UFC contests since he and several other Strikeforce competitors were assimilated into the UFC collective. Rockhold also has only one defeat since his victory over Souza, however it came more recently, a knockout loss to the Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) version of Vitor Belfort in 2013. Since that setback, Rockhold has rattled off four wins, all by stoppage, en route to earning (leapfrogging) a title shot against belt holder Chris Weidman. Regardless of who's more deserving, the ink has long been dry on the contracts for UFC 194's competitors set for Dec. 12, 2015. Souza will face Yoel Romero, 10-1, who has starched five of his last six opponents. Who do you think will be left standing when the dust settles on Dec. 13? Let's hear your fantasy predictions below!