Yoel Romero News

Chris Taylor - April 8, 2018

VIDEO | Yoel Romero has a message for Michael Bisping Yoel Romero will square off with Robert Whittaker for the promotions undisputed middleweight title in the main event of UFC 225 in Chicago on June 9.

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 10, 2018

The octagon will return to Chicago on June 9 for UFC 225. The pay-per-view event will be headlined by a middleweight title fight rematch featuring current title holder Robert Whittaker taking on top division contender Yoel Romero.

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 20, 2018

It has been nearly 10 days since Yoel Romero finished Luke Rockhold with an uppercut so brutal that we’re still talking about it. We’re also still talking about the kiss he landed on Rockhold’s cheek as well at UFC 221. Originally it was thought that it was nothing more than a sportsmanlike gesture, but Romero had the bible on his mind as he called Rockhold a brother and put his lips on his cheek. He was thinking of Judas, who betrayed Jesus with a kiss after The Last Supper. The Soldier of God flipped the allegory in the Octagon that night when he pecked Luke Rockhold, then told the story of their fall on Monday. “Before USADA, every time when [Luke Rockhold] saw me […] he’d say, ‘Hey, what’s up, my man? You want to go out with me? I need a party.’ I’d say, okay, come on, let’s go, no problem. When I [was hanging out] with him, he was like a friend. […] When I had this problem with USADA, he and Michael Bisping is the two guys who were talking a lot of [trash] about me. Ok, Bisping is Bisping. I don’t have a relationship with this guy, but with [Rockhold] — You talk like this against me? But God is good. Maybe he was thinking, ‘Ok, this guy is 39-years old. Minimum two years out [with a suspension], he’s 41. Bye, bye Yoel.’ But God is good every time. I’m still here. That’s why the UFC call me and I say, ‘Yes, I want the fight’ and I tried to get down my current weight.”

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.”

Tom Taylor - February 15, 2018

Over the weekend, the UFC debuted in Perth, Western Australia with UFC 221. In the main event of this card, a fearsome Yoel Romero took out former champion Luke Rockhold with a brutal barrage of third-round punches. Shortly after the referee waved off the fight, Romero cornered Rockhold for a brief post-fight embrace – and a quick peck on the cheek that was promptly immortalized as an MMA meme.

Tom Taylor - February 14, 2018

Last weekend, in the main event of the stacked UFC 221, Yoel Romero knocked out Luke Rockhold with a brutal bombardment of third-round punches. In the subsequent moments, Romero pinned a bewildered Rockhold against the cage, and planted a kiss on his cheek. Though Romero’s intention was clearly an act of sportsmanship, the gesture didn’t go over well with former middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Yoel Romero comforts Luke Rockhold with a kiss after #UFC221 pic.twitter.com/mv6IXxqQP7

Tom Taylor - February 11, 2018

Last night, the UFC made its debut in the beautiful Australian port city of Perth with the action-packed UFC 221. In the main event of this anticipated card, former Olympic silver medalist and long-time UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero executed one of his best wins to date, clubbing former champion Luke Rockhold to a third-round knockout win. With this win, Romero seems to have secured himself a rematch with the division’s current champion Robert Whittaker.

Tom Taylor - February 11, 2018

On Saturday night, in the headliner of an action-packed UFC 221 card, former Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero authored one of the finest victories of his incredible career thus far, knocking out former UFC and Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold with a savage third-round volley. With this win, Romero positioned himself at the front of the middleweight contender line, and may well have earned himself a rematch with divisional ruler Robert Whittaker, who he lost a decision to back in July of 2016. While some fans and pundits have argued that Romero shouldn’t be rewarded with a middleweight title shot on the basis of his UFC 221 weigh-in miss – the reason he wasn’t awarded the interim title for his defeat of Rockhold – UFC President Dana White confirmed post-fight that a Whittaker-Romero rematch is indeed the plan.

Tom Taylor - February 11, 2018

Last night, in the main event of UFC 221, former Olympic wrestler Yoel Romero picked up one of the best wins of his amazing career thus far, knocking out former UFC and Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold with a brutal, third-round salvo. With this win, Romero positioned himself at the front of the middleweight contender line, and may well have earned himself a rematch with divisional ruler Robert Whittaker, who he lost a decision to back in July of 2016. Shortly after Romero’s win, Whittaker took to Twitter to congratulate his rival in his own language. See Whittaker’s Spanish language post below.

Chris Taylor - February 10, 2018

UFC 221 Results: Luke Rockhold vs Yoel Romero A middleweight tilt between Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero served as the main event of tonight’s UFC 221 pay-per-view event in Perth, Australia.

Justin Golightly - February 10, 2018

Here’s our interview with @LukeRockhold, and he’s clearly feeling some type of way about @YoelRomeroMMA missing weight… #UFC221 https://t.co/G5aQ44nScp — FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 10, 2018