Resurrection Fighting Alliance is heading back to Minnesota in March and the event will be headlined by Benjamin Smith meeting Tat Romero for the promotions vacant welterweight title.
The event was recently announced by the promotion and the co-main event will be a bantamweight bout as Jeff Curran comes out of retirement to meet Minnesota’s own Melvin Blumer.
RFA 24: Smith vs. Romero will come from the Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota on March 6 and the event will air live on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
“I am thrilled to announce that RFA is bringing another title fight to Minnesota with RFA 24 – Smith vs. Romero,” stated Soares. “Benjamin Smith vs. Tat Romero is an exciting headliner that will determine our next welterweight champion.”
Smith (10-2) is currently on a five fight winning streak and his most recent win came at RFA 20 in November as he defeated Josh Cavan by unanimous decision. During his recent winning streak, three of the wins have come by decision and his last defeat was against former RFA champion Mike Rhodes in 2013.
“It all seems to have lined up the way it was planned,” Smith explained. “Hopefully, this fight is the one that propels me to where I want to go (the UFC). Tat and I will both have a lot of friends and family at the fight, so there will be thunder in the cage and a lot of energy in the crowd.”
Romero (24-5) has won six fights in a row and this will be his RFA debut. Nineteen of his career wins have come by stoppage and his most recent victory came by TKO in June against Jesse Midas.
“I feel really good about this,” stated Romero. “10 years has boiled down to this fight. I’m very excited about this opportunity. Benjamin Smith is a solid opponent and has a great ground game. The fans should expect an exciting title fight at RFA 24.”
The current RFA 24: Smith vs. Romero fight card is below.
Benjamin Smith (10-2) vs. Tat Romero (24-5)
Melvin Blumer (11-2) vs. Jeff Curran (36-16-1)
Marvin Blumer (11-4) vs. Jarred Mercado (12-2)
Dan Moret (7-1) vs. Daniel Swain (12-4-1)
Andre Tieva (8-0) vs. Matt Brown (9-4)
Bojan Velickovic (9-3) vs. Chris Hugh (17-9)