The former PrideFC fighter Ricardo Arona seems very close to inking a fight deal with the UFC. According to Arona, he walked up to UFC President Dana White immediately after the UFC 114 event. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert says they talked about his last victorious fight over Marvin Eastman back in September of 2009. He also says that if he does sign with the North American organization, his UFC debut will most likely be toward the end of 2010 as he is still recovering from a knee injury.
From Ricardo Arona (props to Tatame.com):
“[Our meeting] was better than I expected, because (Dana White) is a very busy guy, we’ve been seeing this great event, a great show he is promoting. It was a while since we last spoke and there were some rumors in the internet, some interviews… What really happened was that he said he was really glad to see me here, asked about my last fight, where it was, how it was and I told him and also said I wanted an opportunity to rejoin the event on the end of the year, a chance to be here and he said he wanted me on his event, that I have a space for me here on his event and that he only had to talk to his manager and then we would set things up. He said the doors were opened to me, but he would have to consult first his manager. It was much better than I expected, he was really honest and friendly, so it’s enough for me to come back to the hard trainings with an extra energy … t’s a motivation for all my trainings from today on. That’s what I needed to hear. He said we have to keep in touch, so I just have to follow these steps to come closer to the treasure. First I have to worry about my knee recover and I said to him it would be a good thing for me to do a comeback on the end of the year and he said it’d be ok. He told me to take care of my knee while he consults his manager. He was very friendly and honest and so was I and now what I have to do is to keep in touch with him and I’m much closer than I expected.”