On a Night of Crazy Fights, Yoel Romero Silences Critics by Knocking Luke Rockhold Out in Round Three…
After all the drama at the weigh-ins on Saturday, you would be forgiven for forgetting that Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold still had to fight. The pair finally made it into the octagon in a pulsating and violent clash. In the co-main event veteran heavyweight Mark Hunt was out-grappled by rising contender Curtis Blaydes.
Unfortunately, Rockhold and Romero’s fight was overshadowed by the fact that ‘The Soldier of God’ had badly missed weight, coming in three pounds heavy. The duo was meant to be fighting for the interim middleweight title fight. However, because Romero didn’t manage to make the limit of 185 pounds, only Rockhold could win the interim title.
Coming into the fight there were a number of questions waiting to be answered. Could an ageing Romero go five rounds without gassing? Would Rockhold survive exposing his chin like he did to David Branch and Michael Bisping? Who would have the advantage if the fight went down to the mat?
How It Went Down
The fight started tentatively with both fighters naturally cautious as they tried to figure each other out. Rockhold probably did enough to win the first round just because he had a higher output, as the pair were slow to get going.
Romero came straight out in the second throwing heavy shots to the body and the head. Rockhold’s shin was actually bleeding because of his Cuban opponent’s heavy and ferocious leg kicks. One of the most bizarre and most typically Romero moments was when he threw a hammer fist to Rockhold’s leg. A close round but Romero just snatched it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FFNghBq52I
Violent Knockout
It started pretty well for Rockhold. He came out with a more measured approach. His jab had been effective throughout the fight up to this point and he was starting to use it more, combining with kicks.
However, it was all in vain because suddenly Romero landed a massive left hand, dropping the American. Then boom! Rockhold is unconscious after another left hand. After all the drama it turns into an incredible win for Romero.
.@YoelRomeroMMA confirms that he has a broken leg from kicks by @LukeRockhold after his win at #UFC221 https://t.co/35ZFJbKj5j
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 11, 2018
Post Fight Analysis
After the fight, Romero told ESPN that he actually broke his leg during the bout. He was apologetic for missing weight but he had no worries about his durability. He said
“I felt really good. We trained really hard for this fight, we trained really good for this fight. We had six, seven rounds of sparring. I had no worries in terms of cardio. Small, minor changes we would have had a better result.”
The big question is what is next for the middleweight division. While Romero’s win was, without doubt, a brilliant addition to the UFC’s highlight reel, they remain without the interim champion they wanted in place of Robert Whittaker who remains out with a staph infection. When Dana White was asked by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto if Romero will get the next title shot, he was simply told: “Yes”. We’ll see.
