Yoel Romero takes post-fight dig at Israel Adesanya, proclaims himself the ‘people’s champ’

Yoel Romero and Israel Adesanya’s UFC 248 middleweight title fight failed to live up to expectations, and both fighters seem to agree it’s because the other was afraid.

Romero suggested exactly that on Twitter on Monday morning, sharing a heavily edited screenshot of the Wikipedia entry for the word “fear.”

No me. You. #peopleschamp pic.twitter.com/n68AOgpn4V

— Peoples Champ (@YoelRomeroMMA) March 9, 2020

“No me,” Romero wrote. “You. #peopleschamp.”

As aforementioned, Adesanya also made a similar accusations against Romero.

"My dance partner didn't want to dance."

🏆 @Stylebender speaks with @MeganOlivi after the main event. #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/nbxaalvofg

— UFC (@ufc) March 8, 2020

“After the fight, I was really frustrated that my dance partner didn’t want to dance,” Adesanya told Megan Olivi of Romero post-fight. “You look at a guy like Kelvin Gastelum, he brought the fight [to me]. Robert Whittaker, he brought the fight. It takes two to tango. So if I’m trying to fight and you’re just standing there going ‘come on, come on, come on,’ that’s silly.

“I took his best shot in the first round,” Adesanya continued, critiquing the performance Romero put forth. “That might be the only round I gave him. Look, he has a good poker face. He’s playing ‘oh yeah, I’m not hurt,’ but the legs didn’t lie. I f**ked his legs up. I touched him up. I cut him. But yeah, I’ve never been a boring fight. I don’t want to say this was a boring fight, but I was expecting more of a fight from him. Even in the fifth round I’m like ‘cool, he’s going to be desperate and he’s going to bring the fight’, and I’m just like waiting for this surge of something. It takes two to tango but I was the only that was willing to dance.”

What are your thoughts on the UFC 248 main event title fight between Yoel Romero and Israel Adesanya? Who, if anyone, do you think deserves the blame for the disappointing way the fight unfolded?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/9/2020.