Las Vegas – UFC® returns to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. with a thrilling middleweight rematch between No. 1 ranked contender Yoel Romero and No. 3 Jacare Souza. In a battle of light heavyweight sluggers, No. 11 ranked Glover Teixeira takes on hard-hitting Ion Cutelaba. UFC FIGHT NIGHT® ON ESPN: ROMERO vs. JACARE 2 takes place at the BB&T Center on Saturday, April 27 with ESPN airing the main card live at 9 p.m. ET. Prelims start at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+ kicks off the event with a live stream of the early prelims at 5:30 p.m. ET. ESPN Deportes will air the prelims live at 7 p.m. ET and stream the main card in Spanish at 9 p.m. ET on the ESPN App. All UFC live events on ESPN+ will also be available in English and Spanish.
Romero (13-3, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Pinar Del Rio, Cuba) got his hand raised in the competitive first encounter, edging out a split decision win. A silver medalist in freestyle wrestling in the 2000 Olympics, Romero has earned emphatic wins over the 185-pound elite. He has delivered spectacular knockouts against Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida and Derek Brunson, and now he aims for another show-stealing finish to stake his claim for a title shot.
Among the most decorated grapplers in MMA, Souza (26-6 1NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has shown his striking can be just as dangerous as his submission game. During his UFC run, he’s netted impressive victories against Vitor Belfort, Gegard Mousasi, Derek Brunson and Tim Boetsch. His most recent outing saw him earn a sensational KO over former champion Chris Weidman. He now looks to earn a measure of revenge against Romero and secure the No. 1 contender’s spot.
Former light heavyweight title challenger Teixeira (28-7, fighting out of Danbury, Conn. by way of Minas Gerais, Brazil) looks to earn his way back into the championship conversation. He has defeated some of the most iconic names in the sport, including former champions Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. With 14 of his last 16 wins coming by stoppage, Teixeira is eager to show he can still compete with the best in the world by taking out up-and-coming prospect Cutelaba.
Cutelaba (14-3, fighting out of Chisinau, Moldova) is gunning to earn his third stoppage victory in a row against the toughest test of his career in Teixeira. A 25-year-old with an impressive 10 wins in under 1:13, Cutelaba is one of the brighter prospects at 205 pounds, most recently taking out Luis Henrique da Silva and Gadzhimurad Antigulov via first-round KO. Now, Cutelaba looks to break into the rankings and work his way to title contention with his most impressive performance yet.
Announced bouts on the card include:
No. 8-ranked bantamweight contender John Lineker (31-8, fighting out of Paranagua, Brazil) goes for his 15th career KO as he looks to hand rising prospect Cory Sandhangen (10-1, fighting out of Aurora, Colo.) his first UFC loss
Former UFC heavyweight champion and No. 14-ranked contender Andrei Arlovski (27-17, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.) sets his sights on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series signee Augusto Sakai (11-1-1, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil)
In a welterweight bout guaranteed to deliver fireworks, Alex Oliveira (19-5-1 2NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) takes on Li Jingliang (15-5, fighting out of Beijing, China)
In an early Fight of the Night candidate, long-time veteran Jim Miller (29-13, fighting out of Sparta, N.J.) guns for his 19th UFC victory by taking out Jason Gonzalez (11-4, fighting out of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)
Former strawweight champion and No. 10-ranked contender Carla Esparza (14-6, fighting out of Irvine, Calif.) collides with surging prospect Livinha Souza (12-1, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil)
The Ultimate Fighter season 11 winner Court McGee (20-6-1, fighting out of Orem, Utah) hopes to keep his momentum going against Dhiego Lima (15-7, fighting out of Atlanta, Ga.)
Former strawweight title challenger Jessica Penne (12-6, fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif.) aims to rebound against Jodie Esquibel (6-4, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.)
Former NFL standout Greg Hardy (2-1, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) goes for his first UFC victory when he meets Dmitrii Smoliakov (9-2, fighting out of Kaliningrad City, Russia)
For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
Visit UFC.com for information and content to support your UFC coverage. Please click here to apply for the event.
To subscribe to ESPN+, visit www.espnplus.com/ufc.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT® ON ESPN: ROMERO vs. JACARE 2 will air live from BB&T Center on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 27, with the ESPN broadcast prelims kicking off the ESPN broadcast at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Early prelims stream on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT.
Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT® ON ESPN: ROMERO vs. JACARE 2 go on sale Friday, March 15 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, March 13 at 10 a.m. ET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, March 14 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
###
About UFC®
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. UFC boasts 278 million fans worldwide and has produced over 460 events in 24 countries since its inception in 1993. Acquired in 2016 by global sports, entertainment and fashion leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG), together with strategic partners Silver Lake Partners and KKR, UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas with a network of employees around the world. UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe, while programming is broadcast in over 165 countries and territories to 1.0 billion TV households worldwide in over 40 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.
Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL games, exclusive UFC and Top Rank boxing events, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more), thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and can cancel at any time.
ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment enterprise, features more than 50 assets – eight U.S. television networks, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN International, ESPN The Magazine and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
About BB&T Center
Home to the Florida Panthers Hockey Club and leading international concerts and events, the Broward County-owned BB&T Center is one of the top ranked venues of its kind in the world, servicing Broward,
Collier, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach Counties. For the latest info about upcoming events, visit www.thebbtcenter.com and follow BB&T Center on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
