Report: UFC targeting Yoel Romero vs Uriah Hall in August
The UFC is reportedly targeting a middleweight fight between former title contender Yoel Romero and Uriah Hall to take place in August. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, citing sources, was first to report the targeted matchup.
This will be the first fight back for Romero since his title fight against Israel Adesnaya at UFC 248 this past March, which came with disappointment and criticism due to the lack of action, to which even UFC President Dana White admitted he regretted making the fight.
Romero is currently on a four-fight losing skid, which prompted some talks about a move up to heavyweight, but three of his four losses have come in title fights. Before his fight against Adesanya, Romero dropped one fight to Paulo Costa, and then back-to-back decision losses to former champion Robert Whittaker, although there has been arguments made that Romero won their rematch back at UFC 225 in 2017.
Back in May, Uriah Hall was scheduled to face Jacare Souza at UFC 249 but Souza was removed from the card after testing positive for COVID-19. Hall did not receive a replacement opponent for the fight and was removed from the card completely.
Prior to the scheduled matchup against Souza, Hall picked up two consecutive wins over Antonio Carlos Junior and Bevon Lewis, which have landed him in the top-10 rankings of the middleweight division.
According to Helwani’s report, there is no date for the matchup and the contracts have yet to be signed, but this is the fight that the UFC is currently working on.
Although it is unlikely to have major implications for a future title fight, Romero and Hall should be quite the treat for fans, especially as Yoel Romero looks to wipe away the memory of his last fight against Adesanya and as Hall looks to work his way inside the top of the middleweight division rankings.
