Let’s try this again — for the third time.
Ronald Souza and Yoel Romero have been booked to fight each other at UFC 184 and UFC on FOX 15 with neither one of those dates working out because of injuries. The UFC will try it again with the two middleweight contenders at UFC 194 on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas, UFC senior vice president of public relations Dave Sholler confirmed Monday on Twitter. The Las Vegas Review Journal was the first to report the news.
Souza (22-3, 1 NC) has won eight in a row and is coming off a first-round submission win over Chris Camozzi at UFC on FOX 15 in April. “Jacare” would have met Romero on that card before he fell injured. Souza, 35, owns wins over Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy, Gegard Mousasi and Yushin Okami. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu master has improved his striking and power, making him one of the most feared competitors in the 185-pound division.
Romero (10-1) is on a tear of his own. The Cuba native has won six straight, the latest a third-round TKO win over Lyoto Machida — the biggest of his career by far. Romero, 38, is a former Olympic silver medalist in wrestling. The only loss of Romero’s career came in 2011 — his fifth career fight — against Rafael Cavalcante in Strikefore.
UFC 194 is headlined by a featherweight title fight between champion Jose Aldo and interim titleholder Conor McGregor. In the co-main event, middleweight champion Chris Weidman defends his title against Luke Rockhold. The event will take place at MGM Grand Garden Arena.