'Jacare' Souza: Luke Rockhold 'absolutely leapfrogged me' into title fight

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza doesn't like waiting in line.

The standout middleweight has perched on the precipice of a title fight for months, but the crowded scene atop the division meant that at least one or two deserving contenders would inevitably be left out in the cold. So instead of facing champion Chris Weidman at UFC 194, Souza squares off with Yoel Romero, while Luke Rockhold will vie for the title in the evening's co-main event - something that's not sitting well with the Brazilian.

"Absolutely. He absolutely leapfrogged me, he shouldn’t be next," Souza said of Rockhold during a Brazilian media day for UFC 194, according to MMAFighting.com's Guilherme Cruz. "It should be me. It’s about time, my friend. I have this tough fight ahead of me. I won’t be a hypocrite to say it’s going to be an easy fight. I’m ready for a tough war, I’m ready to fight three rounds and suffer, but I’m ready to win."

Souza will likely be christened the No. 1 contender with a victory over Romero, and he doesn't really care who emerges from UFC 194 with the title wrapped around his waist.

"Man, I think about getting the title, against Chris or Luke. It doesn’t matter," Souza said. "Everybody talks about rematch, but to me that fight is in the past. I look ahead. But it would be cool to have an opportunity to fight Rockhold again. I called him out several times in Strikeforce, and I don’t know why this fight never happened, but I believe it can happen sooner or later."

A former Strikeforce champion, Souza lost the title to Rockhold in a nip-tuck affair in 2012; although he'd relish the opportunity for a rematch, he's picking Weidman to triumph on Dec. 12.

"It’s a tough fight for the champion," Souza said. "Rockhold is an impressive fighter, he keeps his pace during the fight and that can complicate anyone, including Weidman, but I believe the champion has more chances to retain his title."