Cliffard Starks Set To Meet Strikeforce Fighter Yoel Romero At UFC on FOX 7

Officials with the Ultimate Fighting Championship have added another bout to this April’s UFC on FOX 7 event with middleweight Clifford Satkrs (8-1) welcoming Strikeforce fighter Yoel Romero (4-1) to the Octagon at the New Jersey event.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship added the bout to the official lineup for the Fox television event recently, which includes two other UFC vs. Strikeforce matches. An unofficial lightweight title unification bout between UFC champ Benson Henderson and Strikeforce title holder Gilbert Melendez headlines, while heavyweights Frank Mir and Daniel Cormier are set to meet in the co-main event.

UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Melendez is expected to take place on April 20, 2013 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The main card is set to air on Fox television with the prelim card split between television and streaming video on the internet.

Starks, a former NCAA division 1 wrestler at Arizona State Unviersity, is just 1-1 in the Octagon. Starks was a short notice replacement for Brad Tavares at UFC 137 in October 2011, taking the fight two weeks out from his last fight under the Shark Fights promotion banner. Starks would go on to win a decision over Dustin Jacoby at the event. He would then go on to suffer his first career loss, a submission win for Ed Herman at UFC 143 in February 2012.

Romero makes the jump from the Strikeforce cage to the Octagon with this fight but hasn’t fought since his first career loss back in September 2011. Romero suffered a second round knockout in his only Strikeforce appearance, losing to Rafael Cavalcante at the Barnett vs. Kharitonov event. Romero is a former Olympic Silver medalist competing for Cuba in men’s freestyle wrestling at 85kg’s in 2000.