Yoel Romero finds a new home after UFC release, expected to sign contract with Bellator

Former UFC middleweight title contender Yoel Romero has found a new home, having signed a deal with Bellator MMA.

The UFC is currently in the process of downsizing its roster, and has cut many fighters over the last few weeks. While many of the promotion’s cuts have been fairly easy to justify, it’s decision to release Romero came as a massive surprise to pretty much everybody.

“We’re gonna go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year,” White told ESPN after Romero was released. “Probably gonna have 60 cuts coming up before the first of the year. Yoel has lost four out of his last five. He’s over 40 years old.”

While Romero has lost four of his last five fights, all of those losses have been against elite talent, and several came by way of debatable decisions. Given those facts, many fans still consider him one of the best middleweights on earth, and were immediately curious where he would end up.

While ESPN’s Ariel Helwani initially reported that Bellator was not interested in signing Romero, the promotion has evidently reconsidered. The promotion is expected to sign the former Olympic wrestler to an exclusive deal that will see him compete in its stacked light heavyweight division.

Yoel Romero is headed to Bellator.

Romero has agreed to a new deal with Bellator, sources say. He is expected to sign imminently.

He’ll debut for the promotion in 2021 at 205 pounds. His debut date and fight aren’t set yet, sources say.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 14, 2020

Initially, Bellator officials passed on Romero, however, after further talks last week, and with a new chapter at 205, the two sides were able to come to an agreement very recently.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 14, 2020

“Yoel Romero is headed to Bellator,” Helwani reported on Twitter. “Romero has agreed to a new deal with Bellator, sources say. He is expected to sign imminently. He’ll debut for the promotion in 2021 at 205 pounds. His debut date and fight aren’t set yet, sources say.

“Initially, Bellator officials passed on Romero, however, after further talks last week, and with a new chapter at 205, the two sides were able to come to an agreement very recently,” Helwani added in a second Tweet.

Yoel Romero will join a Bellator light heavyweight roster that is populated by monsters like reigning champion Vadim Nemkov, former champion Ryan Bader, former UFC champ Lyoto Machida, and other former UFC fighters in Corey Anderson and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. How do you think he’ll perform under the Bellator banner?