In the middleweight division, few have made the impact that Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa have made on opponents, and on November 3, the foundations of Madison Square Garden may shake when two of the most explosive finishers in the sport meet in a UFC 230 bout in New York City.
The bout joins another intriguing 185-pound showdown between No. 5-ranked Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and No. 7-ranked David Branch.
Stay tuned to UFC.com for more UFC 230 fight card announcements and ticket on-sale dates.
Fresh from a July knockout of Uriah Hall that earned him his fourth UFC finish and second Performance of the Night bonus, Brazil's Costa has lived up to his nickname "The Eraser" by knocking out all his UFC opponents before the end of the second round. This November, the No. 8-ranked contender puts his perfect 12-0 record on the line against the No. 1-ranked Romero, a former Olympic silver medalist for Cuba who has knocked out the likes of Lyoto Machida, Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold on his way to the top of the division.
Hoping to put themselves in title contention this fall are Brazil's Souza and New York's Branch, two of the top veterans in the 185-pound weight class. Souza has won three of his last five, finishing Vitor Belfort, Tim Boetsch and Derek Brunson, while Branch, winner of 12 of his last 13, is coming off a first-round Performance of the Night knockout of Thiago Santos in April.
