The UFC makes its’ return to Florida in April for their second UFC On FOX event of 2014 as the Octagon will grace the Amway Arena in Orlando on April 19 for UFC On FOX 11, and a pair of fights has been booked for the night’s card.
Heavyweight contenders Fabricio Werdum (17-5-1, 5-2 UFC) and Travis Browne (15-1-1, 6-1-1 UFC) will meet in a fight that will likely determine the next challenger for Cain Velasquez and the UFC Heavyweight Championship, and former challengers for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship will square off as Miesha Tate (13-5, 0-2 UFC) takes on Liz Carmouche (9-4, 1-2 UFC).
The UFC announced the event and fight bookings on Monday evening. The fights will likely be part of the night’s main card, which will air on FOX. Prelims will air on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Werdum has won three straight fights since returning to the UFC from the Strikeforce promotion. He returned with a decision win over Roy Nelson at UFC 143 in February 2012, and backed that up with stoppage wins over Mike Russow at UFC 147 in June 2012, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, by submission, in June to establish himself as the top contender.
Browne has made a statement to claim himself as the top contender at heavyweight with an impressive 2013 campaign that saw him go 3-0 with three first-round knockout wins. He used elbows to finish Gabriel Gonzaga in 71 seconds in April. He was nearly finished by Alistair Overeem when they fought at UFC Fight Night 26 in August, but Browne scored a comeback knockout with a front kick and pick up the win. Browne recently scored a one-minute knockout win, again with elbows, over Josh Barnett at UFC 168 in December.
Tate is looking for her first win in the UFC. She was stopped by Cat Zingano in her UFC debut in April, but an unfortunate injury to Zingano opened the door for Tate to coach The Ultimate Fighter 18 against Ronda Rousey, and she met Rousey at UFC 168 in December. Tate came up short in her quest to win the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship as Rousey submitted her in the third round, but she became the first woman to last past the first round against Rousey.
Carmouche was also submitted by Rousey in a UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship bout as she fell victim to Rousey at UFC 157 in February. Carmouche bounced back with a stoppage win over Jessica Andrade at UFC On FOX 8 in July, but then dropped a decision to Alexis Davis in November. Tate and Carmouche were scheduled to meet in July before Tate was pulled from the bout to coach and fight against Rousey.
A main event is to be announced in the coming weeks for UFC On FOX 11. Tickets for the event will go on sale to UFC Fight Club members on February 12 with the public on sale starting on February 14.
