UFC Fight Night Adds Fan-Friendly Bout Featuring Highly-Anticipated UFC Debut

The UFC Fight Night event scheduled for April 4 just got a major boost with the addition of a highly-anticipated UFC debut.

Following back-to-back numbered events to kick off 2026 and the promotion’s new partnership with Paramount, the UFC returned home to the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, NV for the first UFC Fight Night event of the year.

The promotion will head back to the Meta APEX again on March 14 for a card headlined by Josh Emmett and Kevin Vallejos before returning three weeks later for a UFC Fight Night on April 4, which will reportedly see former LFA star José Delano debut against former KSW titleholder Robert Ruchała.

José Delano Set To Make UFC Debut In Las Vegas

First reported by Ag Fight, Delano’s debut comes after the Brazilian took a unanimous decision over Manuel Exposito to earn a UFC contract on last year’s edition of Dana White’s Contender Series.

The 29-year-old’s professional MMA career got off to an inauspicious start when he initially went 1-2 following his 2014 debut, but after that he won eight-straight fights and captured the Shooto Brasil featherweight belt before making the jump to the LFA in 2022. Delano won the LFA’s vacant featherweight strap in his promotional debut and brought his win streak to 11 fights before he was stopped by current UFC featherweight Gabriel Santos in 2023.

Jose Delano of Brazil punches Manuel Exposito of Argentina in a featherweight fight during Dana White's Contender Series. | (Al Powers/Zuffa LLC)

“Ze” rebounded from that setback with four-straight wins, knocking out the formerly-unbeaten Abu Muslim Alikhanov at LFA 201 to earn his crack at a UFC contract on DWCS last August.

Ex-KSW Star Robert Ruchała Looks For First UFC Victory

Delano already boasts 19 fights of professional MMA experience, and the Brazilian’s UFC debut on April 4 will see him square off with a decorated name in Poland’s Ruchała.

Following an impressive 12-3 run as an amateur, Ruchała began his professional MMA career with a 9-0 run that he capped off by winning the interim KSW featherweight belt in 2023. After falling short in a title unification bout with Salahdine Parnasse, “Faker” won the interim strap again and successfully defended it with back-to-back finishes before signing with the UFC last year.

Willam Gomis (red gloves) fights Robert Ruchala (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Accor Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

Ruchała will be eager to spoil Delano’s UFC debut after the Polish star came up short in his own debut against William Gomis at UFC Paris, and the fan-friendly featherweight tilt joins a UFC Fight Night card that is currently shaping up like this.

UFC Vegas 115 Fight Card

• Virna Jandiroba vs. Tabatha Ricci

• Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Jun Yong Park

• Hailey Cowan vs. Alice Pereira

• Alessandro Costa vs. Stewart Nicoll

• Dione Barbosa vs. Melissa Gatto

• Azamat Bekoev vs. Tresean Gore

• Tommy McMillen vs. Manolo Zecchini

• Thomas Petersen vs. Guilherme Pat

• Tofiq Musayaev vs. Samuel Sanches

• Robert Ruchała vs. José Delano

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