UFC Ft. Lauderdale is set to take place April 27 in BB&T Center, and the major event was expected to become a five-round middleweight bout between Yoel Romero and Ronaldo”Jacare” Souza. Regrettably, Romero has pulled out with trauma and the UFC is scrambling to get a new competitor for Souza. A few other bouts on the card have also seen changes occur, and I will give my initial thoughts on them below.
Alex Oliveira vs. Mike Perry, UFC on ESPN 3
An exciting welterweight bout between Alex Oliveira and Mike Perry will happen at UFC on ESPN 3. ESPN first broke the news that Perry is filling in on short notice for the injured Li Jingliang.
Oliveira (19-6-1, two NC) is 9-4, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming from a brutal entry loss to Gunnar Nelson in his last struggle. He is constantly in exciting fights win-or-lose, but is lacking that signature success and hasn’t yet demonstrated he can take the next step in to contender status. Perry (12-4) includes a 5-4 record in the UFC but was filed by Donald Cerrone in his final fight. We all know he’s knockout power, but he hasn’t shown much else besides his hitting power. This one can go either way as both men are offensively talented however defensively flawed. I’d have to prefer Oliveira as he is better on the ground, but Perry is certainly live in this battle together with his KO power.
Carla Esparza vs. Virna Jandiroba, UFC on ESPN 3
Because of an injury to Livia Renata Souza, Carla Esparza will now face Virna Jandiroba at a women’s strawweight bout. Combate broke the information. Esparza (13-6) is the former UFC women’s strawweight champion and has a 4-4 record total from the Octagon, such as a TKO loss to Tatiana Suarez in her final outing. Jandiroba (14-0) was the Invicta women’s strawweight champion after going 3-0 in the promotion. Esparza will likely be favored due to getting more UFC expertise, but the unbeaten Jandiroba is completely a live dog in this fight.
Ben Saunders vs. Takashi Sato, UFC on ESPN 3
Also added to UFC on ESPN 3 is a welterweight bout between Ben Saunders and Takashi Sato. Asian MMA broke the information. Saunders (22-11-2) is just 2-4 in his third stint at the UFC, and is coming from back-to-back stoppage declines to Lyman Good and Sergio Moraes. He looks to be on quite the decline. Sato (14-2) is a Pancrase vet who won his last struggle, but overall looks like a suspicious signing by the UFC. Given Saunders is out of Florida, possibly the UFC believes they’re providing him a winnable fight here, but Sato may surprise and receive the knockout win.
Gilbert Burns vs. Eric Wisely, UFC on ESPN 3
Lightweights Gilbert Burns and Eric Wisely are set to meet. Combate had the information. Burns (14-3) is 7-3 at the UFC and is coming from a decision win over Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Wisely (30-9-1) is making his return to the Octagon after going unbeaten over his last nine fights in the regional circuit. He had one previous stint in the UFC back in 2012, when he went 0-2. This is a bizarre fight, and the only thing I can imagine is that no one desired to fight Burns, that I anticipate to be a massive favorite to conquer Wisely.
Roosevelt Roberts vs. Thomas Gifford, UFC on ESPN 3
And lastly, lightweights Roosevelt Roberts and Thomas Gifford will meet at UFC on ESPN 3. Roberts (7-0) has finished all of his pro fights including a submission win over Darrell Horcher within his UFC debut. Gifford (14-7, 2 NC) is making his UFC debut after going undefeated over his last five bouts in the regional circuit. Gifford appears to be a decent prospect but Roosevelt has proven he can win in the UFC and I expect him to be favored fairly heavily in this one.
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