The UFC’s first visit to Perth, Australia was marred by the withdrawal of Australian star and middleweight champion Robert Whittaker An interim middleweight title fight between slated challenger Luke Rockhold facing Yoel ‘Solider of God’ Romero.
If the withdrawal of the cards main attraction wasn’t enough, drama entailed at the weigh-ins. Yoel Romero missed the 185-pound limit for a middleweight title fight, tipping the scales at 188.3lbs. He was given an additional two hours to make the limit, but despite his efforts, only shed to 187.7lbs.
The weigh-in drama leaves Romero unable to win the interim belt, whilst Luke Rockhold can still clinch interim gold and set up a fight with Robert Whittaker to regain the middleweight title he lost to Michael Bisping back in 2016. Rockhold hit his mark at exactly on the limit at 185lbs.
Rockhold has lost just one of his last seven fights, with Yoel Romero representing one of a few middleweights the American is yet to face. His comeback victory over David Branch back in September marked his first bout in fifteen months. Rockhold wasted no time, submitting his opponent to strikes in the second round.
The former champion’s well-rounded skillset is one to be admired in a tough division. His Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is well justified with ten of his sixteen victories coming by way of submission. Rockhold hasn’t been as far as the judges’ scorecards for over five years since outpointing Tim Kennedy.
Can Rockhold make the first steps on his path to redemption? Forty-year-old physical freak of nature Yoel Romero will hope to stop him in Perth.
The Cuban has only been defeated twice in his career, with his sole promotional loss coming to Whittaker back at UFC 213 in July. An Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medallist, he will be wary of Rockhold's submission capabilities should the fight go to the canvas.
Romero possesses devastating knockout power, something so clearly demonstrated to Chris Weidman at UFC 205, with a flying knee splitting the forehead of the former champion. Lyoto Machida and Tim Kennedy have faced the same fate along the way, as Romero won eight successive bouts in the octagon.
Rockhold’s four-inch reach advantage could be a problem for Romero, with the American’s arsenal of kicks at his disposal, the Cuban should be hesitant of keeping the fight at range. The drama in the build-up to this card has been constant, will the fight deliver?
