Yoel Romero Departs UFC
Yoel Romero Departs UFC despite having a few fights remaining on a contract. The news was first broken by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on his personal Twitter account.
Yoel Romero's UFC run has come to an unexpected end.
Romero and the promotion have parted ways, multiple sources told ESPN. Romero's manager Malki Kawa also confirmed he is no longer under contract with the UFC.
According to sources, Romero had three fights left on his deal.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 5, 2020
When communicating with ESPN, Romero’s manager Malki Kawa seems to paint a picture of being appreciative of the UFC’s opportunities. But stating that Yoel is in a place to move on. The Solider of God is purportedly fielding offers from multiple promotions. This is not at all surprising considering his profile in the sport.
After an inauspicious welcome to UFC post-first MMA loss in Strikeforce, Yoel Romero would put together an imposing eight-fight win streak. This momentum catapulted him towards a UFC interim middleweight title shot against Robert Whittaker. Romero lost for the first time in the UFC by Bobby Knuckles via unanimous decision at UFC 213 in July 2017.
The multi-time middleweight title challenger leaves the organization after a unanimous decision loss to Israel Adesanya in March of this year at UFC 248 that was heavily criticized by many in the MMA community. A fight almost entirely devoid of action whereby the pre-fight histrionics seemed to have more entertainment value than the actual fight itself.
Yoel Romero Departs UFC
Yoel Romero exits the promotion after capturing several signature victories. Wins over names like Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Ronaldo Souza, Lyoto Machida, Tim Kennedy, and Derek Brunson.
Considering the unexpected nature of this development, it’s fun to pontificate on where Romero goes.
A foray into Bellator presents some intriguing matchups, for sure. Who wouldn’t be interested in seeing Yoel Romero lock horns with Gegard Mousasi, for instance?
On the more spectacle oriented end of things, Jorge Masvidal suggested a boxing match. One between Yoel Romero and Jake Paul which Romero also seemed to entertain on his personal Twitter account.
Where do you see Yoel Romero ending up competing for his next contest?
