UFC middleweight contender Ronaldo Souza is stoked to avenge his loss to Gegard Mousasi when they rematch at UFC 176 on August 2, especially since he thinks it will earn him a shot at championship gold.

“Jacare” explained his take on the current title picture at 185 pounds in an interview with MMA Fighting.

"After this fight, there’s no other option," he said of a title fight. "Vitor (Belfort) is the next in line, no doubt about it, but he has issues with the commission and I honestly can’t understand what’s going on,” Souza said.

“He has yet to get a license to fight in Nevada, but I’m here … My focus is on Mousasi now, and then I’ll think about what’s next.”

Souza has been on a tear since dropping the Strikeforce middleweight belt to Luke Rockhold in September 2011, rattling off six straight wins (five finishes).

Meanwhile, Mousasi is 5-1 in his past six contests, most recently finishing off perennial middleweight contender Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night 41 last month.

His lone loss during that three-year time frame came to top contender Lyoto Machida in February, in what was a hard-earned decision win for “The Dragon.”

Souza and Mousasi first met under the DREAM banner in September 2008, with “The Dreamcatcher” scoring a quick knockout with an upkick in the opening frame.

The highly-regarded Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt made no excuses for the loss.

"He caught me because he was better," Souza said. "He found an opening and connected the kick. He was better that night and that’s why he defeated me.”

Nevertheless, “Jacare” maintains that his game has improved by leaps and bounds since then and his game plan will “surprise” a lot of people.

Should Souza live up to his word, would it be impossible to deny him a title shot with a decisive win over Mousasi?