On This Day in 2018: Robert Whittaker And Yoel Romero Went to War in One of the Best UFC Middleweight Fights Ever
Image Credit: MMAmania.com
On this day in 2018 at UFC 225 in Chicago, Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero went to war in what many fans and pundits still hail as one of the greatest middleweight fights in UFC history.
In a five-round battle of sheer grit and heart, Whittaker edged out Romero via split decision in a non-title bout that earned the Fight of the Night award and is still remembered to this day.
Originally slated as a middleweight title defence for Whittaker, the stakes changed when Romero missed weight by 0.2 pounds at the official weigh-ins. As a result, the fight was ruled a non-title contest, but that didn’t stop either man from throwing everything they had at each other.
This was a rematch of their first encounter at UFC 213, where Whittaker claimed the interim middleweight title in a five-round unanimous decision.
On This Day at UFC 225: Robert Whittaker And Yoel Romero Went to War
Robert Whittaker was very sharp and composed early on, using his jab, kicks, and angles to pick off Yoel Romero from range. But the Cuban powerhouse began to get things going in the third, dropping Whittaker with a thunderous right hand that had “The Reaper” wobbling all over the place before somehow recovering and fighting back.
Despite breaking his right hand early in the fight, Whittaker never stopped throwing. Romero, meanwhile, sustained a broken orbital bone yet kept pressing forward, walking through powerful elbows and head kicks like a machine. One of the most insane sequences saw Romero eat a clean head kick and not even flinch.
The judges scored the contest 48-47, 48-47, and 47-48, two in favour of the Australian and one for Romero, reflecting just how tight this bout was.
To this day, this is regarded as one of the greatest middleweight fights in UFC history with two extremely tough and skilled competitors eating everything that was threw at them.
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
Related Fighters & Stats
Get Ringside Updates
Fight announcements, results, and analysis delivered to your inbox. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.