While speaking to tatame.com.br, Ricardo Arona said that he is really close to a deal with the UFC to return sometime near the end of the year.

Arona, who was considered near the top of the light heavyweight division in PRIDE, has been out in the wild ever since the promotion shut shop. Arona, who holds notable wins over fighters such as Alistair Overeem, Wanderlei Silva, Sakuraba, Dan Henderson and others last fought in Brazil in the Bitetti Combat league winning an Unanimous Decision over Marvin Eastman.

Whether this news is on the heels of a “win some more and you’re in” directive from the UFC or something more concrete is something we’ll have to wait and watch.

Tatame reports that Brazilian PRIDE sensation and former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho is one of the confirmed participants for Bitetti Combat 6, scheduled to be held on February 27th in Brasilia, Brazil.

Fernando Miranda, the promoter, said that they want to have a good mix of international fighters and Brazilians for the card and are working on getting competitors in for the event. Filho, once hailed as the best athletes out of Brazilian Top Team and a force to reckon with in PRIDE during its heydays, has fallen on hard times lately, battling addictions and a lack of confidence and conditioning. This, and fights from here on are extremely important for the former champion if he is to get his name back up again and in to the ranks of the elite in his division.

Time will tell what happens with Filho, but we sincerely hope that the Brazilian comes out and wows the MMA fans once again like he used to.