PRIDE Legend Arona Has Two U.S. Fight Offers…

Sherdog.com did an interview with former PRIDE light heavyweight fighter Ricardo Arona that had some very interesting tidbits in it. Ricardo Arona is recovering from surgery and hopes to fight again this year, the Brazilian recently told Sherdog.com. He injured his knee during his win over Marvin Eastman in September at Bitetti Combat 4. “I injured a ligament in the first round, but at the end of the second round, when I put my foot on the Octagon grid, I must have (torn) my meniscus. From that point on I felt a really hard pain, but I returned in the third round and fought standing up until the bell rang,” said Arona, who had surgery two months ago. The two-time ADCC submission wrestling champion is now planning a return to training and to the ring “In July I’ll restart my MMA training,” Arona said. “I got some calls from two American events. I want to be fighting in October or November.” While I doubt one of them is the UFC as he is coming off a serious injury, he is probably one fight away from securing a deal. While in PRIDE, Arona defeated names like Guy Mezger, Dan Henderson, and of course, The Axe Murderer himself, Wanderlei Silva. However, Arona has never fought on American soil. This raises two questions: Can he pass a drug test, and can he get over “octagon block” or whatever it is that Cro Cop claims he has? If he does, the UFC can quickly add another contender to the 205 lb division. No tags for this post.