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Jason da Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza climbed to No. 6 in the latest official UFC middleweight rankings, which were released on Monday.

Souza, who submitted Chris Camozzi in the first round in Brazil, improved two slots after his Octagon debut.

The event featured only a handful of ranked fighters, as Nik Lentz and John Lineker each moved up, as well.

Luke Rockhold, who was defeated by Vitor Belfort in the main event, fell twice spots to No. 7 in the middleweight Top-10.

Complete rankings can be viewed by clicking here. They will also be updated next week.

Jacare burst on to The UFC with a submission of the night performance. He won by arm triangle; that was the fourth arm triangle win of his career

Jason da Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has been called one of the top fighters in the world not competing inside the Octagon for several years.

Now, after making his UFC debut over the weekend and putting on a clinic vs. Chris Camozzi, Souza believes he has confirmed those lofty rankings.

“I came here and showed I can perform very well,” said Souza, on the FUEL TV post-fight show. “I threw a couple of punches, gave him my business card. I wanted to show I’m a complete fighter.”

Souza (18-3) eventually locked in a choke and forced Camozzi to pass out, earning “Submission of the Night” honors at UFC on FX 8.

“(The win) means a lot to me,” he added. “It’s hard for me to say exactly what it means.”

Vitor Belfort and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza each picked up an additional $50,000 for their efforts Saturday night at UFC on FX 8, pending passing the post-fight drug tests.

Belfort scored the “Knockout of the Night” for his finish of Luke Rockhold in the main event, while Souza earned the “Submission of the Night” after choking Chris Camozzi out cold in the co-main event.

The “Fight of the Night” belonged to Lucas Martins and Jeremy Larsen, who put on a show on the Facebook prelims.

#UFConFX8 Fight of the Night, Martins vs. Larsen; Sub of the Night, Jacare. KO – c’mon now, be reasonable. 50K each.

— UFC (@ufc) May 19, 2013

Jacare Souza runs through some of his fight preparations for his UFC debut opposite of Chris Camozzi. Souza was the former Strikeforce middleweight champion in 2010.

MMAFighting reports today that Costa Philippou suffered a facial laceration that will keep him out of his bout with ‘Jacare’ Souza at UFC on FX 8. The bout was scheduled to be the co-main event for the May 18 card in Brazil.

Philippou was coming off a victory over Tim Boetsch at UFC 155 while Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza was looking to make his UFC debut.

Chris Camozzi, who was an injury replacement for C.B. Dolloway on this card, will step in to face Souza. Camozzi was scheduled to take on Rafael Natal; Natal will now take on Joao Zeferino.

Wanderlei Silva: After an amazing resurgent performance against Brian Stan, Silva is due for another big name opponent. The entire night captured the nostalgic feelings of PRIDE so why not continue those feelings and match up Silva with Dan Henderson? Henderson is coming off a loss to Lyoto Machida and is no longer in the title picture at 205. We’ve seen two great matches in PRIDE and a third matchup between the two veterans could be a perfect headliner for the next UFC card in Japan.

Mark Hunt: The former PRIDE star is now on a 4-fight win streak in the shallowest division in MMA. He has gone from a possible cut to a guy who is on the cusp of a title shot. Now, there are a few guys at the top of the division who would wipe the floor with him. But against Frank Mir who tends to wilt when faced with big power, he could get inside on Mir early and land big punches on him. If he could fight off Mir’s mediocre wrestling game, he might be able to put away the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and get one step closer to a title fight.

Diego Sanchez: He didn’t look very impressive but he did get the win over Gomi. He is now due for a step up in competition. A top-25 guy like Jamie Varner could be an interesting style matchup for “The Dream.”

Yushin Okami: Okami continues to solider on in the welterweight division after defeating Hector Lombard. He’s not the most exciting fighter and I don’t see him getting himself in the discussion for a rematch with Anderson Silva soon. But, he can still serve the UFC well as a high level gatekeeper. Constantinos Philippou and Jacare Souza are two rising fighters in the UFC; Okami would be a good test for the winner of that bout which takes place in May in Brazil.

Rani Yahya: He keeps winning but it’s hard to be impressed with a featherweight who gasses hard in almost all of his bouts. Manny Gamburian needs a fight after dropping out of his bout with Chad Mendes. It would be an interesting matchup of striker vs. grappler and we might be able to see whether or not Yahya is for real.

Dong-Hyun Kim: John Hathaway is getting closer to a title shot and Dong-Hyun Kim is making his own case for a shot at St. Pierre’s belt. Putting the two together will show us whether or not John Hathaway can handle Kim, who has a similar smothering top-game as the champion.

What do you think fight fans? Get at me @samgenovese on Twitter.

Another former Strikeforce champion will enter the Octagon for the first time at UFC on FX 8, as Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is expected to meet Costa Philippou. The bout was first reported by MMAFighting.com.

The card takes place May 18 from Brazil, with Vitor Belfort meeting Luke Rockhold in the main event.

Souza (17-3) is set to fight for the first time in the UFC, and is currently on a three-fight win streak. He topped UFC veteran Ed Herman in Strikeforce last month.

Philippou (12-2) is 5-1 with the promotion, including a TKO victory over contender Tim Boetsch in late 2012.

Souza is ready to come to the UFC and make a splash at 185.

The door will close on Strikeforce Saturday evening, as the final event takes place on Showtime. Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine goes down in Oklahoma City.

In the main event, Nate Marquardt will battle Tarec Saffiedine with Marquardt’s Srikeforce welterweight title on the line.

The card also features Daniel Cormier, Josh Barnett, Gegard Mousasi, Ronaldo Souza and UFC fighter Ed Herman.

Weigh-ins took place earlier today, and complete results can be found below:

MAIN CARD (Showtime)

Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
Nate Marquardt (170 lbs.) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (170 lbs.) for Marquardt’s Strikeforce welterweight title

Daniel Cormier (230 lbs.) vs. Dion Staring (240 lbs.)

Josh Barnett (249 lbs.) vs. Nandor Guelmino (229 lbs.)

Gegard Mousasi (205.5 lbs.) vs. Mike Kyle (205 lbs.)

Ronaldo Souza (193 lbs.) vs. Ed Herman (193 lbs.)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Showtime Extreme)

Pat Healy (156 lbs.) vs. Kurt Holobaugh (156 lbs.)

Roger Gracie (186 lbs.) vs. Anthony Smith (186 lbs.)

Tim Kennedy (186 lbs.) vs. Trevor Smith (186 lbs.)

Ryan Couture (155.5 lbs.) vs. K.J. Noons (156 lbs.)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Unaired)

Jorge Gurgel (155 lbs.) vs. Adriano Martins (155.5 lbs.)

Estevan Payan (156 lbs.) vs. Michael Bravo (156 lbs.)