Report: Yoel Romero to sign with Bellator and debut at light heavyweight in 2021
For the second time in as many weeks, Bellator MMA has signed a former UFC title challenger. According to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, free agent Yoel Romero has signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion and he is expected to debut in 2021 in the light heavyweight division.
Last week it was announced that Romero had parted ways with the UFC, the first move by the company in which President Dana White said about “60” cuts were going to be happening in the near future. Following his release, Bellator President Scott Coker initially said there was no interest in signing Yoel Romero, but as Helwani reported, a move to the light heavyweight division led the two sides to come to an agreement.
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
This is the second signing of a former UFC title challenger by Bellator in the past two weeks. Last week it was announced that the promotion signed former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, who will also compete in their light heavyweight division.
Yoel Romero has competed for the UFC’s middleweight title three times, twice against Robert Whittaker including one fight that could’ve gone his way, and most recently at UFC 248 in March when he dropped a decision to reigning champion Israel Adesanya. Back at UFC 221 in 2018, Romero defeated Luke Rockhold in an interim title fight but was unable to hold the title due to missing championship weight.
During his tenure with the UFC, Romero racked up wins over the likes of Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Jacare Souza, Lyoto Machida, and many more during his seven-year tenure with the promotion.
Now that he’s joined Bellator’s stacked light heavyweight division, it will be interesting to see who they decide to match him up against, with many fans likely wanting to see him face Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
Bellator MMA has once again added to a very talented and growing roster over the past couple weeks, and if the UFC continues to make big cuts, Bellator may be continuing to add to their roster.
