Yoel Romero and former World Series of Fighting two-division champion David Branch is now slated for Feb. 24 at UFC on FOX 28. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani confirmed the news Friday afternoon following an initial report by The Orlando Sentinel.
The bout comes to fruition mere weeks after Branch called out Romero on Twitter. It will be a three-round contest, per Helwani.
Before losing an incredibly close interim title fight against Robert Whittaker in July at UFC 213, Romero was on an 8 fight win streak, defeating fighters such as Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, and Clifford Starks.
Branch (21-4), looks to rebound after losing via second-round TKO to Luke Rockhold in the main event this past September. Before then, Branch was on an 11-fight win streak that saw the 35-year-old become a two-division champion in WSOF, then capture a split decision over Krzysztof Jotko in Branch’s long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 211.
UFC on FOX 28 takes place at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Other announced bouts for the card include Jessica Andrade vs. Tecia Torres, Ben Saunders vs. Alan Jouban, Gilbert Burns vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier, and Jake Collier vs. Marcin Prachnio.