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UFC Close To Signing Ricardo Arona
Posted by Dustin James on 01.16.2010

Another PRIDE veteran could be coming.....

PRIDE veteran Ricardo Arona (14-5) recently sat down with Tatame.com and discussed the possibility of signing with the UFC in the very near future:

"I can't talk about this project right now, but there's a connection between me and the UFC now, something concrete that I didn't have before. My return will be in the end of the year and will be in the UFC."

Arona use to be considered one of the best light heavyweight fighters in MMA. After signing with PRIDE in 2001, he went on to have a pretty successful career with the company. He managed to compile a record of 9-4 over a 7-year period with wins over Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Alistair Overeem, and Kazushi Sakuraba. However, Arona's stock has dropped a little bit over the last few years. After losing to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (who was considered a big underdog) at PRIDE 34 in 2007, Arona took some time off and didn't return to MMA until September of last year when he defeated UFC veteran Marvin Eastman via unanimous decision at Bitetti Combat 4.

411mania.com: MMA - UFC Close To Signing Ricardo Arona