Yoel Romero News

Tom Taylor - June 11, 2018

On Saturday night, in the main event of the stacked UFC 225, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and fearsome middleweight contender Yoel Romero engaged in a truly incredible five-round fight. Though the title was not actually on the line, as Romero missed weight for the bout, the two middleweight talents fought with the kind of verve and intensity that ensured their battle will never be forgotten. In the end, Whittaker won this jaw-dropping fight via split decision. While not everybody agreed with the judges’ scoring of the fight, Whittaker is confident he deserved the W. The champ commented on the fight in a classy, post-fight statement on Instagram.

Tom Taylor - June 10, 2018

Last night, in the main event of UFC 225, Yoel Romero gave up a competitive — and somewhat controversial — split decision to reigning UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. With this result, Romero falls to 0-2 against the current champ, which represents a tough situation for any contender. Romero’s situation looks even more uncertain when you consider the fact that he has now missed the 185-pound limit for middleweight title fights on two separate occasions. When it comes to options for the 41-year-old Cuban’s next fight, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has one of the more interesting ideas. He thinks Romero should head north to the light heavyweight division, where he’ll have to endure a less taxing cut, to battle long-time contender Alexander Gustafsson to establish a true light heavyweight champion in the division. This is a particularly interesting idea given that Cormier is currently tied up with a looming heavyweight title shot opposite Stipe Miocic, which leaves Gustafsson without a worthy adversary.

Tom Taylor - June 10, 2018

Last night, in the main event of the stacked UFC 225, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and top middleweight contender Yoel Romero met for a second time — though Romero was not eligible to win the title due to a slight weigh-in miss. The pair’s main event showdown would go down as one of the very best fights of the year, complete with several near-stoppages, and some truly incredible momentum shifts. In the end, Whittaker would win this bout with a somewhat controversial split decision, moving to 2-0 over the fearsome Cuban in the process. That being said, there are really no losers in a war of this kind, which truly riveted the MMA community from beginning to end.

Chris Taylor - June 9, 2018

A middleweight rematch between current division champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Yoel Romero served as the headliner of tonight’s UFC 225 pay-per-view event in Chicago. Unfortunately for fight fans, Yoel Romero missed weight by a mere .2 lbs on Friday and thus tonight’s UFC 225 main event was no longer for Robert Whittaker’s coveted middleweight championship.

Tom Taylor - June 8, 2018

After tipping the scales at 186 pounds — one pound above the limit for middleweight title fights — Yoel Romero was given an additional two hours to attempt to shed that final pound. Apparently, however, his efforts to lose the final pound were cut short by a commission executive, and his team doesn’t know why. This is particularly interesting information, as Romero ultimately came in 0.2 pounds above the 185-pound limit as a result. Ariel Helwani explained the situation on Twitter:

Tom Taylor - June 8, 2018

Earlier this morning, Yoel Romero missed weight for his UFC 225 middleweight title fight with divisional champ Robert Whittaker, tipping the scales one pound above the 185-pound limit for middleweight title fights. He was then given two additional hours to weigh in. Almost two hours later, Romero took to the scale for a second time, and unfortunately, he once again missed, tipping the scales at 185.2 pounds — just 0.2 above the mark. He will not be given another chance to weigh in, per the rules of the commission in Illinois.

Tom Taylor - June 7, 2018

This weekend, in the main event of UFC 225, Yoel Romero will battle Robert Whittaker for the UFC middleweight title. From the sounds of it, this might not be the only title fight in Romero’s future. Speaking at a UFC 225 media scrum, Romero was asked about the possibility of moving up to the 205-pound light heavyweight division for a battle with divisional champion Daniel Cormier, a fellow Olympic wrestler. Apparently, he’s into the idea.

Tom Taylor - June 1, 2018

For a time, Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and long-time middleweight contender Yoel Romero shared one of the most intense rivalries in MMA. That was back when Bisping sat on the middleweight throne, and Romero stood out as the top contender in the division. While the pair once shared a truly fiery rivalry, that rivalry seems to have fizzled out now that Bisping has retired.

Justin Golightly - March 22, 2018

Flashback to UFC 221 and it’s hard to forget the weigh-in drama that kept most of us up late into the night trying to find out what was going to happen. Yoel Romero missed weight and Luke Rockhold entered into negotiations with the UFC, until finally deciding to move forward with the bout. Robert Whittaker, who was supposed to fight Rockhold that night, recently spoke up to say he wouldn’t have taken the fight with Romero that night. “Why would you [take that fight]? I don’t understand anyone who takes fights when their opponent doesn’t make weight. It’s like, if you rock up at 87 kilos, which is what [Yoel] Romero did – It was like 86 kilos or something like that – then why don’t I rock up at 95? What’s the difference? We’re both not making weight, we’re both not professional enough to do it, you know? And the weight cut is directly influential to the fight itself. I think not making weight is the most unprofessional thing you can do. It’s as bad as just not showing up for the fight itself. So, if you don’t make weight, I’m not fighting you. I’ll give the shot to someone else who can make the weight, who can do their freaking job.”

Justin Golightly - March 19, 2018

While it hasn’t been long since Robert Whittaker first defeated Yoel Romero at UFC 213, it seems like forever ago. A lot has went down, but the more things change, the more they stay the same. Whittaker still holds the UFC middleweight title and has been waiting to see the rightful challenger rise to meet him after his injury. It just happens to be Romero, who is expected to be just as if not more dangerous at UFC 225 than their last encounter. “[Yoel] Romero is a hard fight. It was a war the first time. It’s definitely up there as one of my hardest fights to date, one of the hardest fights mentally due to getting injured in the first round and having to get through it all. He’s such a tough competitor, he’s such a good athlete and such a good fighter.”

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

On March 10, BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor reported that UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Yoel Romero will rematch at UFC 225 on June 9 in Chicago, Illinois. Breaking! Per sources Yoel Romero vs Robert Whittaker 2 is a done deal for #UFC225. The title fight rematch is expected to serve as the main event in Chicago!

Chris Taylor - March 11, 2018

Luke Rockhold responds to Yoel Romero’s post-fight antics at UFC 221 Yoel Romero scored a brutal second-round knockout victory over former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in the headliner of last month’s UFC 221 event in Perth, Australia.

Justin Golightly - March 9, 2018

You know the Yoel Romero story by now: He missed weight, the fight went on, and he finished Luke Rockhold in spectacular fashion at UFC 221. it was a moment of glory that was only slightly blemished due to the percentage of his purse being taken and the fact that he wasn’t awarded an interim title. However, as Romero would say himself, ‘God is good all the time.’ While no official UFC announcements have dropped, our sources have confirmed Romero gets his title shot against Robert Whittaker at UFC 225 in Chicago on June 9th. Breaking! Per sources Yoel Romero vs Robert Whittaker 2 is a done deal for #UFC225. The title fight rematch is expected to serve as the main event in Chicago!

Tom Taylor - February 25, 2018

When Yoel Romero knocked out Luke Rockhold in the main event of UFC 221, he earned himself a rematch with reigning middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. While some fans felt Romero didn’t deserve this opportunity on the basis of his weigh-in flub, UFC President Dana White confirmed the plan was indeed a Whittaker-Romero rematch. While we have known this rematch is the plan for a few weeks, the date and venue of the rematch have remained nebulous. Whittaker is hoping he can fix that.

Justin Golightly - February 24, 2018

After Yoel Romero took out Luke Rockhold at UFC 221, there was no doubt that he deserved a title shot. Although, some did criticize the decision by the UFC to still award Romero with a chance at the belt after he missed weight. Former UFC fighter Jay Hieron was recently asked about the scenario and says Romero was already punished and no one else is as deserving. “[Yoel Romero] got penalized. He’s not all happy right now. He got 30-percent of his purse taken, which is a lot. He has the belt – on his own stomach, in his own house right now, he could be interim belt champion, which he’s not. He’s penalized. But you go out and put a performance on like that, you can’t argue that. He should definitely get the shot. I get it. You’re in a different country. You’re in a totally different time frame. You’ve retained water, so it’s already not going as planned. I get it. He probably thought he could make weight.”

Justin Golightly - February 21, 2018

Yoel Romero is on cloud nine after his finish of Luke Rockhold. All signs point to a rematch between him and Robert Whittaker for the middleweight title going down, the big question now is where will it happen? The Chicago card in June has been talked about, but now it looks like Miami is a real possibility. With their big Cuban population, that could mean a huge draw for a Romero main event. It’s an idea that Romero is really excited about. Who knows, maybe Joey Diaz might be in attendance? “I don’t have an idea [of the date of my title shot against Robert Whittaker]. Maybe July? I don’t know when. I hear he’s sick, he’s feeling no good, he’s feeling very bad. I pray for him. I’m waiting. I’m waiting for him. Thank you God, [my leg is] good. I think a lot about [how I’m able to keep this up at my age]. I try to stay [living] a very clean life and very quiet, but I think this is God. Believe me, I think it’s God. It’s God.”

Justin Golightly - February 15, 2018

After an awesome battle with Luke Rockhold and an even more incredible finish, the worry was that Yoel Romero had a broken leg coming out of the fight at UFC 221. However, the good news is that it is just a deep bruise that is expected to heal rather quickly, which puts Romero back to work on his road to gold. After already being punished for missing weight, he’s expected to face Robert Whittaker later this year. Romero has said he’d like the bout to take place in Miami, but manager Malki Kawa just said UFC 225 in Chicago may be a possibility. “[Yoel Romero] almost pulled out of the fight. The man re-hydrated, went to sleep the next morning, and still he wasn’t feeling the best. He even told me, ‘I’m not 100-percent.’ He could have fooled me. Nobody that I know wants to lose $100,000 over three pounds. The man wasn’t trying to do that. He tried, and he couldn’t do it. He paid the penalty.”

Justin Golightly - February 15, 2018

Just four days ago, Yoel Romero overcame the drama of a suspenseful weigh-in ordeal and rose to the occasion in the main event of UFC 221. He shut down former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and finished him with an uppercut that looked like it was removed from Mortal Kombat. It’s not surprise that current champion Robert Whittaker was watching this fight and keeping an eye on who could be his next opponent. However, he didn’t just watch it, he absolutely dissected it. “[Yoel Romero] was mentioning a back injury earlier, so we can’t be sure if it was the back injury that’s what prevented him from doing his usual explosive, unorthodox movement patters, or it was a gameplan because it worked so well. He stood at perfect range for [Luke] Rockhold, he predicted all his strikes, all his combos. When Rockhold couldn’t kick – cause he always leads the kick, or tries to, doesn’t really set up his kicks too well – he’d check it. When Rockhold would work with his combos – no more than two or three – he’d block him. Then he’d just explode moving forward, landing punches, not overextending too much.”