Ronaldo Souza was in need of a new opponent after Yoel Romero was forced to withdraw from UFC Fight Night Fort Lauderdale due to illness and now he has one, as Brett Okamoto of ESPN is reporting that #10 Jack Hermansson has accepted the short notice opportunity.
The report from Okamoto also states that Souza will get a shot at the UFC Middleweight Title with a win over Hermansson.
Souza (26-6-0-1NC) has rotated wins and losses in his last five UFC appearances, with the latest fight being a third round knockout win over former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman at UFC 230. Souza is a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, defeating Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Houston to claim the gold. Souza has picked up twenty six wins as a professional MMA fighter and fourteen of them have come by way of submission.
Hermansson (19-4-0) enters the contest while in the midst of a three fight winning streak, last defeating David Branch at UFC Fight Night Philadelphia. Hermansson is going to be headlining his first UFC card, despite having been with the promotion for over two years. Hermansson has competed twenty three times as a professional MMA fighter and just four of his bouts went the distance.
UFC Fight Night Fort Lauderdale takes place on Saturday, April 27 from the BT&T Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with Ronaldo Souza and Jack Hermansson headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on ESPN.
