Yoel Romero explains why he wants to fight Anderson Silva

Fearsome UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero has made several callouts of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the past, and apparently, it’s still a fight he’s interested in — especially now that his planned 2019 matchup with the undefeated Paulo Costa is off the table.

The appeal of this fight with Anderson Silva, Yoel Romero explains, is that it would give him a clear sense of the level he’s at. If he can beat the middleweight legend, well then he’s right where he wants to be. If he can’t, then it might be time to reassess.

“I want to fight with him,” Romero explained this week on the Ariel Helwani MMA Show (transcript via MMA Mania). “It’s not personal, between me and Anderson, it’s for me, because Anderson is the best of all time in MMA. I have big respect for him. If you stay in the middleweight division and you don’t fight with the top 10 people, you won’t understand what exactly is your level. If you really want to know what is your level, you have to fight with Anderson Silva.”

Yoel Romero has not fought since June, when he came up short in his second war with reigning UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker. Romero was ineligible to win the title in this fight, as he failed to make the 185-pound limit for middleweight title fights.

Anderson Silva, meanwhile, has recently been sidelined by an unfortunate United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension. That being said, this suspension recently ended, which means he’s free and clear to fight again. With Romero no longer tied to a fight with Costa, this could be the fight to make in early 2019.

Does a fight between Yoel Romero and Anderson Silva interest you, or would you prefer other options for the two men? Join the conversation in the comments section below.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/13/2018.