It was better than I expected... [Dana White] said he was really glad to see me here, asked about my last fight, where it was, how it was and I told him and also said I wanted an opportunity to rejoin the [UFC] on the end of the year, a chance to be here and he said he wanted me on his event, that I have a space for me here on his event and that he only had to talk to his manager and then we would set things up. He said the doors were opened to me, but he would have to consult first his manager. It was much better than I expected, he was really honest and friendly, so it’s enough for me to come back to the hard trainings with an extra energy.
It’s more than happiness, it’s a motivation for all my trainings from today on. That’s what I needed to hear. He said we have to keep in touch, so I just have to follow these steps to come closer to the treasure.
First I have to worry about my knee recover and I said to him it would be a good thing for me to do a comeback on the end of the year and he said it’d be ok. He told me to take care of my knee while he consults his manager. He was very friendly and honest and so was I and now what I have to do is to keep in touch with him and I’m much closer than I expected.
--Former PRIDE star, Ricardo Arona (14-5), talking to tatame about the meeting he had with Dana White shortly after UFC 114 ended.