Yoel Romero is one of the most liked fighters on the UFC roster. The Cuban fighter is one of the scariest men to have ever stepped foot in the octagon. With explosive power in both hands, he can end a fight in the blink of an eye, which makes him an exciting fighter to watch.
Unfortunately for UFC fans, news recently broke that the UFC parted ways with Romero, despite having three fights left on his contract.
In the seven years that ‘The Soldier of God’ has been with the promotion, he has had some unforgettable moments both inside and outside the octagon. We take a look at some of the best moments of Yoel Romero in the promotion.
Read: BREAKING: Yoel Romero ends contract with the UFC despite three fights remaining
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Yoel Romero at open workouts
Yoel Romero got his first shot at the UFC title when he was set to take on Robert Whittaker at UFC 213. The fight would be for the interim middleweight belt.
Romero is a freak of a human being and is one of the most well-built athletes in the UFC. Despite his age, ‘The Soldier of God’ has maintained his shape throughout his career and at 40, ‘Soldier of God’ displayed his insane physique ahead of the event.
During the open workouts at UFC 213, Romero shocked the world with his athleticism. With music playing in the background, Romero danced around while doing multiple splits and cartwheels, which was extremely impressive for a man his age. This has to be one of if not the most memorable moments of Yoel Romero outside the octagon.
Post-Fight call out of Michael Bisping
Yoel Romero took on Chris Weidman for the number one contender spot at UFC 205. Leading up to the fight, ‘The Soldier of God’ was on a seven-fight win streak. In the third round of the fight, he delivered one of the most perfectly executed flying knees ever seen in the promotion. The move left Chris Weidman in a bloody mess. It was one of his best performances inside the octagon.
However, it was not only his knockout, but also his post-fight interview that grabbed headlines. In the interview with Joe Rogan, when asked his thoughts on challenging for the title, Romero spoke about Michael Bisping. He said, “I love you Mike” and “See you soon Boy”. These are two phrases that have stuck with him since.
Antics during the fight
Yoel Romero is famous for his in-fight antics. ‘The Soldier Of God’ is known to lull his opponents into thinking he is just taking it easy and then explodes with in-human power, thereby catching them off guard. The fight against Paulo Costa is a perfect example of that.
Yoel Romero fights Saturday so here’s the video of him pointing to look the other way against Paulo Costa pic.twitter.com/wulkaJWOW9
— Connoisseur of Combat (@ConOfCombat) March 4, 2020
While backed up against the cage, Romero got clipped with a perfectly timed left hand by Paulo Costa. Romero was dropped to the ground, however, he got up immediately. With Costa pressuring forward just as he got on his feet, Romero pointed to his right to distract Costa and caught him with a perfectly placed right hand that dropped ‘Borrachinha’.
TROLLED! When Yoel Romero Fooled Paulo Costa in the Middle of the Match
Yoel Romero and dirty boxing
Leading up to his title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 248, a dehydrated Romero gave one of the scariest interviews ever. ‘The Soldier Of God’ was talking about Muhammad Ali and how he was beaten by Joe Frazier, who was dirty boxing.Romero then took off his glasses and delivered one of the scariest and most inspiring interviews ever. He stated that anything is possible if one dreamed about a goal and then worked hard towards it.
‘The Soldier of God’ and his scathing attack on ‘The Last Style Bender’
Yoel Romero took on Israel Adesanya at UFC 248. The fight between the two men was arguably one of the most disappointing title fights in the promotion’s history. The two men combined threw a little over 220 strikes combined over the duration of the five-round fight. Both fighters faced a lot of criticism for their display.
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I asked @YoelRomeroMMA whether he had lost respect for Israel Adesanya following their fight.
His answer was six minutes long.
Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/WL4lXu9xjx
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) March 8, 2020
In the post-fight interview, while talking to Aaron Bronsteter, Yoel was asked if he lost respect for Israel Adesanya following the fight. The Cuban went on a six-minute rant on how Israel was not a worthy champion and robbed people of their hard-earned money, among other things.
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What is your favorite Yoel Romero moment in the UFC?
