‘Jacare’ Souza vs. Yoel Romero Rebooked for UFC 194 in Las Vegas

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Perhaps the third time will be the charm for Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Yoel Romero.

Ultimate Fighting Championship officials on Monday announced that the top-10 middleweights have agreed to meet at UFC 194, which takes place Dec. 12 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout could determine the next challenger for the UFC’s 185-pound belt, which will be defended by Chris Weidman against Luke Rockhold in the show’s co-headliner.

The Souza-Romero matchup has been booked and canceled twice before. Originally slated for February’s UFC 184, the fight was scratched from that card when Souza contracted pneumonia. The bout was rescheduled for UFC on Fox 15 in April, only to see Romero withdraw one week before the event due to a knee injury.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Souza remained on the April card, where he once again submitted former opponent Chris Camozzi in the opening round. The X-Gym product will enter his bout with Romero on an eight-fight winning streak which includes victories in both the UFC and Strikeforce.

Romero returned to action in June and secured the biggest win of his 11-fight career by knocking out former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida in the third round. The Cuban wrestler is unbeaten inside the Octagon, holding a 6-0 UFC record with stoppage wins over Tim Kennedy and Derek Brunson.