MMA
Yoel Romero had an impressive night as he defeated Luke Rockhold via TKO in the main event of UFC 221. However, he was unable to get the title belt despite the victory.
Rockhold and Romero were expected to fight for the Interim UFC Middleweight title but Romero was forced to pull out as he failed to meet the 185-pound championship weight limit. He happened to come at 187.7 which stopped him from taking the title.
Romero(13-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) stopped Rockhold (16-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the 1:48 mark of the third round with a powerful uppercut and series of strikes.
After the win, the Aussie man said:
"I want to say I am so sorry for cutting weight is so bad for me. That is the first time in my career it shut my body down."
Mark Hunt was the only Australian fighter to lose on the main card as he failed to win against Curtis Blaydes.
Rockhold ignored the media following the loss but later took Twitter to praise his opponent. He referred Romero as 'the man of steel'.
Respect to Yoel that man is made of steel.
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) February 11, 2018
Rockhold was first set to fight against Robert Whittaker for the title, but, the match was canceled due to the injury of “The Reaper”. UFC president Dana White later revealed that Romero will again get chance to fight for the title belt though he missed weight this time.
