yoel romero

Yoel Romero talks return to Showtime and the possibility of Boxing

Yoel Romero tests skills against Phil Davis of Bellator 266. The mixed martial arts broadcast transpires on Showtime and the card emanates from SAP Center in San Jose, California on Saturday, September 18th.

Romero is a multi-time UFC middleweight title challenger and will be making his Bellator debut here but in a  different weight class.

His first effort in the organization was slated to be against Rumble Johnson in May. This fell by the wayside due to Yoel Romero not clearing a pre-fight medical.

That situation has since been rectified and the Soldier of God is primed for his first walk to the Bellator MMA cage tomorrow.

Journeying up from 185 pounds, Romero returns to light heavyweight here against Davis who is a former divisional kingpin inside Bellator MMA.

I spoke with Yoel Romero, through the aid of a translator, at the pre-fight media day, and the excerpt from our interaction is below.

Yoel Romero

I’ve been following your career for a while now and you’re back on Showtime here. It’s kind of reminiscent of the Strikeforce days in a way.

Are you feeling some of those feelings leading into this one?

“Yes, absolutely everything. Many things are kind of reoccurring again. And it’s very exciting and he’s very, very much looking forward to it.”

And just a quick follow-up because Yoel mentioned in his contract he has middleweight and light heavyweight options.

But I’m curious with Showtime also doing some boxing, is Yoel going to maybe endeavor to do some boxing as well or maybe no interest?

“Yes. Well if the opportunity comes up, yes absolutely. He was once a wrestler, now he’s an MMA fighter. If there’s a new opportunity that opens up for a new exercise. Or an exercise that he does already, he’s more than willing to do it.”

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Dylan Bowker
I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.