Mike Perry steps in to fight Alex Oliveira at UFC Fort Lauderdale

It didn’t take long for the UFC to find a new opponent for Alex Oliveira.

Welterweight striker Mike Perry will replace Jingliang Li and face “Cowboy” at UFC Fort Lauderdale in Sunrise, Florida, on April 27, multiple sources told MMA Fighting. ESPN first reported the news.

Perry (12-4) is looking to bounce back from a first-round defeat to Donald Cerrone in November. Prior to suffering the first stoppage loss of his UFC career, “Platinum” beat Paul Felder via split decision at UFC 226.

Oliveira (20-6-1, 2 no-contests) will also attempt to rebound from a submission loss, a second-round rear-naked choke defeat to Gunnar Nelson in December. “Cowboy” tapped Carlos Condit and Carlo Pedersoli in his other UFC appearances in 2018.

UFC’s return to Florida will air live on ESPN and feature a five-round rematch between middleweights Yoel Romero and Ronaldo Souza in the main event. The card takes place at the BB&T Center.