Report: Jacare will be a free agent after UFC Kansas City

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza could soon be following an old rival into free agency.

On the heels of Gegard Mousasi fighting out his contract at UFC 210 this past weekend, Souza's manager Gilberto Faria confirmed his client's upcoming fight at UFC on FOX 24 will be his last before negotiating a new deal, according to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting.

Jacare is looking for his eighth win in nine Octagon appearances when he meets Robert Whittaker in Kansas City on Saturday. He is listed by the UFC as the No. 3-ranked contender at 185 pounds and is still determined to fight for the championship.

"We've been going back and forth (with UFC officials) for a while," Faria told Helwani. "We still have not reached an agreement on his value, but we will continue to talk after the fight.

"Our goal is to reach a new agreement shortly. The UFC middleweight belt is Jacare's goal. With a good contract in place, we will keep fighting the best middleweight talents out there and earn the title shot."

The 37-year-old Souza has back-to-back wins over Tim Boetsch and Vitor Belfort, as well as finishes of Mousasi and Yushin Okami.

Bellator MMA president Scott Coker has already expressed interest in speaking to both men if they're free to negotiate with other promotions, according to MMAjunkie's Chamatkar Sandhu‏. Souza and Mousasi previously worked with Coker during their time with the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion.