As confirmed by the promotion tonight, former UFC championship duo, Yoel Romero and ex-titleholder, Shogun Rua are set to share the cage with each other in their respective GFL debuts later this year — in a clash at the light heavyweight limit.
Romero, a former undisputed and interim middleweight title challenger during his tenure with the UFC, departed the promotion back in 2020, before penning a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA and chasing the light heavyweight crown to boot over there.
As for Rua, the Brazilian veteran called time on his professional mixed martial arts career back in January 2023, suffering a first round knockout loss to Ukrainian opponent, Ihor Portieria as part of a three-fight losing skid.
And confirming the pairing on social media tonight, GFL posted on their official X account how Yoel Romero will share the cage with Shogun Rua at a yet to be determined event later this annum at the light heavyweight limit.
Yoel Romero set to fight Shogun Rua in GFL debut this year
“We’ve got our second official matchup!” GFL posted. “Team Miami’s @YoelRomeroMMA takes on Team São Paulo’s @ShogunRua in a Light Heavyweight clash!”
Most recently returning to winning ways back in February of last year, Yoel Romero turned in a one-sided unanimous decision win over Rua’s compatriot, Thiago Santos in the pair’s PFL vs. Bellator clash in Riyadh.
During his promotional run with the UFC, Cuban fan-favorite veteran, Romero turned in notable wins over the likes of Derek Brunson, Tim Kennedy, Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza, Chris Weidman, and Luke Rockhold to name a few.
As for Rua, the former undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion and Pride FC icon has been without a win since he landed a split decision win over fellow Brazilian megastar, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira five years ago in the latter’s own retirement fight.
Earlier this evening, GFL confirmed their first official matchup ahead of their April launch, with former UFC middleweight championship duo, the above-mentioned, Weidman and Rockhold set to rekindle their rivalry dating back to 2015 at the middleweight limit.
