Jacaré and Romero in 2015. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
In another episode of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s very own game of thrones, a substitution of one Brazilian for another defined this Thursday the main event for UFC Fort Lauderdale, scheduled to take place April 27 in Florida.
Previously slated to take on Paulo Borrachinha, Yoel Romero will once more share the Octagon with Ronaldo Jacaré. The middleweight duel may spice up the mêlée for the role of challenger to the division’s champion, Robert Whittaker, with an interim bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya also in the pipeline. The information comes from an interview UFC president Dana White gave ESPN.
Jacaré and Romero fought for the first time in 2015 at UFC 194. The Brazilian was defeated in a controversial split decision. Later Romero fought Whittaker twice for the belt, losing each time.
Jacaré (26w, 6l, 1nc), a two time absolute BJJ world champion and former Strikeforce champion, has been one of the strongest middleweights from his arrival in the UFC. He’s coming off a significant win over Chris Weidman, a former middleweight champion.
Romero (13w, 3l) has the two consecutive losses to Whittaker as his latest showings. But his brutal knee-strike win over Weidman, as well as his status as the No. 2 in the middleweight rankings, may end up allowing him to cut in line.
