‘Sledgehammer’ Gets ‘King Kong’ on Feb. 19

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is already starting to stack up its events for a busy first quarter of 2022, and it the promotion’s matchmakers just booked a doozy of a heavyweight collision.

Longtime UFC veteran Ilir Latifi will take on undefeated (15-0, 4-0) big man Alexandr Romanov at an upcoming UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 19 at a location that has yet to be announced. Latifi snapped his three-fight losing streak in his previous bout by narrowly edging out Tanner Boser via split decision. Prior to that, “Sledgehammer” lost consecutive bouts to Corey Anderson, Volkan Oezdemir and Derrick Lewis.

As for Romanov, he has been on fire since making his pro debut six years ago, winning 14 of his bouts via stoppage, six knockouts and seven submissions. Under the UFC banner, “King Kong” has finished all four of his opponents, including knocking out Jared Vanderaa last October.

While no main event has been booked for the ESPN+-streamed event, other confirmed bouts include Diana Belbita taking on Gloria de Paula, Julian Marquez vs Kyle Daukaus, and John Makdessi facing Nasrat Haqparast.