RFA 4 Heads to Las Vegas with UFC Vets Gilbert Yvel, Marcio Cruz, Tyson Griffin, Efrain Escudero

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Four Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans will be in action on Nov. 2, when Nebraska-based promotion Resurrection Fighting Alliance holds its first event in Sin City.

Gilbert Yvel will face Marcio Cruz in the RFA 4 light heavyweight headliner, while lightweights Tyson Griffin and Efrain Escudero duel in the evening’s co-main event at the Texas Station in Las Vegas.

Yvel, 36, has competed twice for the RFA since his UFC departure in 2010, finishing Damian Dantibo on Dec. 15 before doing the same to fellow UFC castoff Houston Alexander on March 30. Known as “The Hurricane,” Yvel has posted notable wins over the likes of Pedro Rizzo, Valentijn Overeem, Cheick Kongo, Semmy Schilt and Tsuyoshi Kosaka in his 15 years as a pro.

Cruz, meanwhile, has competed just 10 times in professional MMA but is a decorated grappler, winning three World Jiu-Jitsu Championship titles in addition to capturing the ADCC heavyweight championship in 2003. “Pe de Pano posted a 2-2 UFC record to start his MMA career before winning five straight fights outside the Octagon. He last competed 13 months ago, falling by technical knockout to heavy-handed countryman and current UFC talent Glover Teixeira.

Griffin, 28, has lost four of his last five and joins the RFA lightweight ranks following a 1-1 stretch as a featherweight in the UFC. The Xtreme Couture rep competed for the vast majority of his five-year Octagon career at 155 pounds before making the cut to featherweight last year, outpointing Manny Gamburyan before suffering a devastating knockout at the hands of Bart Palaszewski this past October.

Escudero, meanwhile, returned to the Octagon this past December as an injury replacement, only to depart the promotion after dropping decisions to Jacob Volkmann and Mac Danzig. The 26-year-old first joined the UFC in 2008, winning “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 and posting a 3-2 Octagon record before receiving his first promotional pink slip.