FOX Sports 1 UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero Features Top-Ranked Middleweights Saturday Night

LOS ANGELES – The Octagon visits Florida on June 27 for a match-up of middleweight contenders when No. 4-ranked Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida (22-6) and South Florida transplant and No. 6 Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero (9-1) headline FOX SPORTS 1 UFC^® FIGHT NIGHT: MACHIDA VS. ROMERO, with the main card starting at 10:00 PM ET. Olympic silver medalist Romero is closing in on a world title shot, but has to get past a former light heavyweight world champion to get there. In the new co-main event, Santiago Ponzinibbio (21-2) faces Lorenz Larkin (15-4, 1 NC) in a welterweight contest.

FOX UFC analyst Brian Stann believes the headliner could be a turning point for both fighters. “Machida vs. Romero is a fantastic match-up to find out if Romero is a real contender at 185 pounds or if Machida can still challenge for UFC gold one day,” he says. “Lyoto’s loss to Luke Rockhold was the most one sided of his career, but a win over a guy as scary as Romero would confirm he is still a big threat at middleweight.”

In addition to the Machida vs. Romero headliner, the three-hour main card features five more exciting matchups. Also confirmed to fight that night are The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 champion Antonio Carlos Junior (5-1) facing fellow TUF winner Eddie Gordon (8-3) in a middleweight matchup. Thiago Santos (10-3) takes on Steve Bosse (10-1) in a middleweight battle. No. 13-ranked featherweight Hacran Dias (22-3-1) fights Levan Makashvili (10-1), while hard-hitting welterweight Alex Oliveira (11-2-1, 1 NC) faces UFC newcomer Joe Merritt (6-0). Welterweight Leandro “Buscape” Silva (17-2-1, 1 NC) takes on Lewis Gonzalez (10-1), who is also making his UFC debut. Plus, watch a battle between hungry UFC newcomers and welterweights Steve Montgomery (8-2) vs. Tony Sims (9-2). Final bout order will be confirmed soon.

Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) and Kenny Florian (@KennyFlorian) call the fights on FOX Sports 1 live from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, while Víctor Dávila makes the call in Spanish on FOX Deportes.

The two-hour FOX SPORTS 1 UFC FIGHT NIGHT PRELIMS feature four bouts kicking off at 8:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 2. Saturday’s action begins on FOX Sports 2 (7:00 PM ET) with the FOX SPORTS 1 UFC FIGHT NIGHT PREFIGHT SHOW hosted by Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer), with analysts Brian Stann (@BrianStann) and former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans (@SugaRashadEvans). Heidi Androl (@HeidiAndrol) interviews fighters on-site in South Florida. Coverage wraps up at 1:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 1 with postfight coverage on FOX SPORTS LIVE.

The FOX SPORTS 1 UFC WEIGH-IN SHOW takes place on Friday, June 26 (5:00 PM ET) on FOX Sports 2 and features veteran combat sports journalist Karyn Bryant alongside Stann, Evans and Melendez on the desk.

Leading up to Saturday’s main event, FOXSports.com offers comprehensive coverage of UFC FIGHT NIGHT with fight analysis and interviews with the featured fighters. Fans can monitor FIGHT NIGHT action with the live blog and minute-by-minute commentary via @UFCONFOX on Twitter and use the hashtag #UFCFlorida for the latest updates.

The live FOX SPORTS 1 UFC FIGHT NIGHT: MACHIDA VS. ROMERO action and related studio programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2 are available to customers of participating pay TV providers via FOX Sports GO app and on the web through FOXSportsGO.com. FOX Sports GO is currently available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Windows devices. Fans can download the mobile app for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store and Windows Store.

PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE & FIGHT CARD IN ATTACHED PDF