Yoel Romero Pulled From UFC Fort Lauderdale Headliner
Yoel Romero pulled from his scheduled bout that would’ve served as the headliner of the upcoming UFC Fort Lauderdale event.
The title contender was supposed to fight Jacare Souza for a second time. However, that fight has been nixed due to an illness by Romero. Romero’s illness was first reported by Brazilian media outlet AgFight and later confirmed by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on if Souza will remain on the card, but it was noted that the UFC is actively seeking a new main event for the card. Romero defeated Souza at the UFC 194 pay-per-view event via split decision in their first fight.
It was added that the UFC “approached other fighters about putting together a headliner that doesn’t include Souza because marquee options are limited for the Brazilian.”
Romero hasn’t been seen inside of the Octagon since his fight against UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of June’s UFC 225 pay-per-view event from Chicago, Illinois. This is where fight fan fans saw him lose to the UFC champion by decision.
UFC Fort Lauderdale is set to take place on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at BB&T Center in Florida. The main card will air on ESPN. The preliminary card will be split broadcasted on ESPN and the TV network’s streaming service, ESPN +. Here’s the updated card for the show:
TBA vs. Ronaldo Souza
Greg Hardy vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov
Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cuțelaba
Carla Esparza vs. Lívia Renata Souza
Andrei Arlovski vs. Augusto Sakai
John Lineker vs. Cory Sandhagen
Jim Miller vs. Jason Gonzalez
Court McGee vs. Dhiego Lima
Jessica Penne vs. Jodie Esquibel
