With Li Jingliang out, Mike Perry expected to fill in against Alex Oliveira at UFC Fort Lauderdale

2019 has been a year that has lacked some ‘Platinum’ up to this point. The generally active Mike Perry hasn’t fought yet… But it looks like that will be changing in the coming months.

Set to compete at UFC Fort Lauderdale on April 27 was Brazil’s Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira who was to take on ‘The Leech’ Li Jingliang. That was until a nagging spine injury forced China’s best welterweight out of the bout.

With Oliveira needing a new opponent, in terms of violence producing match-ups, Perry is likely the best option. And that appears to be the direction that the UFC is heading in according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

“UFC is working on booming Mike Perry vs. Cowboy Oliviera April 27 in Florida, sources say. Fight isn’t finalized yet but that’s what they want.” Helwani tweeted.

If the fight comes to fruition, that will mean Perry will have fought two Cowboys in a row as his last time out came opposite Donald Cerrone at UFC Denver when he suffered a first-round submission defeat via armbar. The loss made Perry 1-3 in his last four fights.

For Oliveira, he too will be looking to rebound after a brutal loss to Gunnar Nelson at UFC 231. This upcoming bout at UFC Fort Lauderdale will be his first of 2019.

With this fight being the 12th on the card, it’s practically all but finalized as only one or two more additions should be expected at the most. As for how it stacks up, that can be seen below.

• Middleweight – 185lbs: Yoel Romero vs. Ronaldo Souza
• Heavyweight – 207-265lbs: Greg Hardy vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov
• Light Heavyweight – 205lbs: Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cuțelaba
• Strawweight – 115lbs: Carla Esparza vs. Lívia Renata Souza
• Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski vs. Augusto Sakai
• Bantamweight – 135lbs: John Lineker vs. Cory Sandhagen
• Lightweight – 155lbs: Jim Miller vs. Jason Gonzalez
• Welterweight – 170lbs: Court McGee vs. Dhiego Lima
• Strawweight: Jessica Penne vs. Jodie Esquibel
• Lightweight: Roosevelt Roberts vs. Thomas Gifford

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/26/2019