Surging UFC middleweight contender Ronaldo Souza believes he should have already had a crack at championship gold inside the Octagon, but he remains at least one victory away right now.

Speaking with Bloody Elbow, “Jacare” explained that his impressive recent effort should’ve earned him a shot at champion Chris Weidman – as opposed to fellow contender Gegard Mousasi.

"Based on the divisional ranking, I believe that I should already have fought for the title. I think that I'm close to my goal, which is fighting for the belt, but I don't think much about it, I have to beat Mousasi first."

Souza, a highly-decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has rattled off six straight victories (five finishes) since losing the Strikeforce middleweight belt to Luke Rockhold in September 2011.

Meanwhile, Mousasi is 5-1 in his past six matchups inside the cage, his sole defeat coming against recent UFC title challenger Lyoto Machida in February.

“The Dreamcatcher” already holds a victory over Souza, scoring a rare upkick knockout under the DREAM banner back in September 2008.

According to the UFC’s official rankings, Souza is the No. 4 middleweight in the world, while Mousasi cracks the list at No. 7.

Will Souza prove he’s ready to challenge for UFC gold with a decisive win over Mousasi or will “The Armenian Assassin” prove the first fight wasn’t a fluke?