Jacare Souza Avoids Free Agency, Inks New UFC Deal

All the speculation about where Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will fight next after he faces Robert Whittaker at UFC on FOX 24 on Saturday can now be put to rest. He's not going anywhere.

Saturday's bout with Whittaker was supposed to have been the final fight on Jacare's UFC contract. Had that held true, the UFC would have two of its Top 5 middleweights on the free agent market. Gegard Mousasi is already a free agent following his UFC 210 bout with Chris Weidman.

That won't hold true, however, as Jacare inked a knew UFC deal this week.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the deal on Friday, posting a photo of Jacare with his freshly signed contract in hand to Instagram.

Jacare also confirmed the contract, sharing White's photo on his Facebook page, adding, “I'm very happy! New contract signed with UFC. Let's go for some more battles! #TeamJacare.”

Jacare's bout with Whittaker, instead of being the final fight of his deal, will now be the first fight of a new eight-fight contract, according to a tweet from MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, who cited Jacare's manager.

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