Dana White Says Jacare Souza vs. Yushin Okami “Is the Fight We’re Gonna Make”

Following an impressive first-round submission of Chris Camozzi in his Octagon debut, former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza may not be far removed from a UFC title shot.

UFC president Dana White on Thursday confirmed that Jacare’s next bout would likely be against fellow Top 10 middleweight Yushin Okami. A win over Okami would make it difficult to deny that Jacare was ready for a shot at the belt.

“That fight will happen, Okami and Jacare,” said White at the UFC 160 media day in Las Vegas. “That’s the fight we’re gonna to make.”

As he alluded to, the fight has yet to hit the home stretch, and White said he wasn’t sure what the target date or location was.

The victory over Camozzi put Jacare (18-3) on a four-fight winning streak since losing his Strikeforce belt to Luke Rockhold in 2011.

He is widely considered one of, if not thee, most dangerous submission ace in the middleweight division.

About the same time Jacare lost his Strikeforce belt, Okami ran into the brick wall that is Anderson Silva when trying to capture UFC middleweight gold. He followed that up with a surprising loss to Tim Boetsch, but has since returned to form.

Okami has currently won three consecutive bouts, defeating Buddy Roberts, Alan Belcher, and Hector Lombard. A victory over Jacare would put him right back in the thick of UFC title talk.