Robert Whittaker looked to make his mark early, targeting the Cuban with leg kicks in the opening minute of the fight. Romero demonstrated his dangerous ability, landing two left hands that Whittaker certainly felt. Volume of striking was certainly in favour of Whittaker, with Romero showing he can end the fight at any time.
The Australian began the second round the same way, throwing at volume and demonstrating the effectiveness of his jab. A huge swelling appeared on the right eye of Romero, with Whittaker further upping the pace and throwing high kicks. It appeared that Romero could not see out of it as the end of the round approached. Robert Whittaker was clearly two rounds up!
Romero began to show some urgency at the start of the third round, dropping Whittaker with a huge uppercut. Whittaker looked to recover before Romero began to hunt the finish with some brutal elbows. Whittaker managed to remain standing and landed some big elbows in return!
Romero began breathing heavily midway through the third round, with signs suggesting he has exhausted his gas tank looking for that finish. Romero began to hunt the finish again, with some huge shots leaving Whittaker somehow still standing. As you can tell… this third round was CRAZY! Whittaker stunned Romero with a head kick of his own, but Romero remained in control as the round came towards an end… WHAT A ROUND!
A deafening roar from the crowd marked the start of the fourth round, with Whittaker looking to target Romero’s legs yet again. A high kick landed again for the Australian with Romero struggling to see them coming out of his swollen right eye. Yoel Romero began to show some serious signs of exhaustion at this point. Romero rocked Whittaker with a big left hand towards the end of the fourth round.
Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero go to war in a five-round epic at #UFC225
Both men warriors. Robert Whittaker the winner 💪
Romero again landed the big shots at the start of the final round, with a combination stunning the Australian. Romero dropped Whittaker with a big left hand with just two minutes gone in the round… but somehow the Australian survived, despite Romero hunting a finish. Whittaker somehow survived the devastating power of Yoel Romero.
The judges scored the fight 48-47, 47-48 and 48-47 in favour of Robert Whittaker, with the Australian edging past Romero for a second time. What’s next for both men? A long rest!
Colby Covington realised his dream after clinching the interim welterweight title in a brilliant performance over former lightweight king Rafael dos Anjos.
Relentless aggression and control across five rounds clinched the fight for Covington, with the striking remaining relatively even. Seven takedowns and over twelve minutes of octagon control clinched what most fans believed to be the unthinkable. In reality, the American was rarely troubled across the twenty-five minutes.
Credit where credit is due, Colby Covington is a legitimate contender at 170lbs, and the interim crown sets him up nicely for a match up with Tyron Woodley later in the year!
Holly Holm gave Megan Anderson a reality check on her UFC debut with a dominant performance, leading to a unanimous decision victory in Chicago.
The former bantamweight champion out landed Anderson by three-to-one and also demonstrated some brilliant top control, mixed in with improved wrestling ability.
Rising prospect Tai Tuivasa went the full three rounds for the first time in his career, outpointing heavyweight legend Andrei Arlovski in a closely-fought battle.
Tuivasa was bloodied and battered but emerged victorious on the scorecards, moving his mixed martial arts record to 10-0 and secured himself a place in the top ten in the process. He celebrated in true Australian style with a “shoey”!
CM Punk’s sophomore octagon showing ended in a second defeat, with Mike Jackson out landing and outpointing the former WWE star comfortably on the main card in Chicago.
It likely marks the end of Punk’s UFC career and potentially his mixed martial arts career, whilst Mike Jackson moves to 1-1 as a professional.
Curtis Blaydes handed Alistair Overeem back-to-back losses for the first time in almost five years with some brutal elbows putting an end to the fight in the third round.
Claudia Gadelha outpointed Carla Esparza to the dismay of the crowd, despite Esparza out landing Gadelha by almost three-to-one. Gadelha will now look towards a title match up with strawweight queen Rose Namajunas.
Mirsad Bektic edged past Ricardo Lamas in a ranked featherweight match up, whilst Chris De La Rocha finished Rashad Coulter in the second round, after a fast-paced start slumped to a slow end.
Anthony Smith decimated former light heavyweight champion Anthony Smith with a knee, whilst Sergio Pettis outpointed Joseph Benavidez in an intriguing flyweight match up.
Charles Oliveira tied the legendary Royce Gracie for the most submission victories in the UFC, making it ten with a slick guillotine over sporting mainstay Clay Guida.
Dan Ige opened the card with a brilliant performance over Mike Santiago, completely dominating landing an impressive twenty-nine strikes in just fifty seconds.
Full Results
Robert Whittaker def. Yoel Romero via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47).
Colby Covington def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47).
Holly Holm def. Megan Anderson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26).
Tai Tuivasa def. Andrei Arlovski via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Mike Jackson def. CM Punk via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26).
Curtis Blaydes def. Alistair Overeem via TKO (elbows) after 2:56 of Round 3.
Claudia Gadelha def. Carla Esparza via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Mirsad Bektic def. Ricardo Lamas via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27).
Chris De La Rocha def. Rashad Coulter via TKO (strikes) after 3:53 of Round 2.
Anthony Smith def. Rashad Evans via TKO (strikes) after 0:53 of Round 1.
Sergio Pettis def. Joseph Benavidez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27).
Charles Oliveira def. Clay Guida via submission (guillotine) after 2:18 of Round 1.
Dan Ige def. Mike Santiago via TKO (strikes) after 0:50 of Round 1.
