OT: Yoel Romero defeats Luke Rockhold at UFC 221
Yoel Romero, 185-pound (187.7-pound*) UFC contender and human wrecking machine, defeated Luke Rockhold last night at UFC 221 with an absurd left hook that sent Luke flying into the cage. Luke sat up, and Romero landed one more nasty blow before the ref jumped in.
Rockhold is known for brutal kicks, but he typically works them to the body and then to the head against orthodox fighters. Since Romero also fights out of the southpaw stance, Luke was forced to throw kicks at Romero's front leg. Two of those kicks combined to injure Romero's lead leg, although the extent of it isn't known. Romero was in the hosopital following the fight, so it's safe to assume a bone bruise or fracture.
The middleweight division is now a bit of a mess. It's easily the UFC's most loaded division--Whittaker, Romero, Rockhold, Souza, and Weidman are all elite talents--but the majority are nursing injuries or reeling from recent losses. Regardless, there are a lot of intriguing matchups for the promotion to pursue, and I'm looking forward to it.
Do you see anyone taking control of the 185-pound ranks in 2018?
*Romero missed weight for this fight. Despite knocking Luke to a different dimension, he didn't win the belt and gave up 30% of his earnings to a person he just knocked senseless.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:02 PM ^
Were there any girls fighting? I find it more interesting than dudes kicking and scratching each other.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
I gotta say...I thought Rockhold would give Romero issues. Nope. Romero is a FREAK. The crazy thing is...Romero is 40. Can’t imagine if this guy got into the fight biz (ufc) in his 20’s..... he’s a stud.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:11 PM ^
Romero's been popped for juicing before; he hasn't taken the avacado smoothie route like Tom Brady.
Biggest issue for Luke was the inability to hammer away with the left leg. Kicking to the closed side is basically useless. He clearly wasn't willing to switch stances, which turned it into a standup boxing match, and we all know Luke's hands are secret trash.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:11 PM ^
Props to him for taking the fight.
This is the first time he’s ever missed weight.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:12 PM ^
Agreed. I'm not placing blame, rather stating that he missed weight. It won't be a consistent issue for Romero like it has been for some.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:15 PM ^
Rockhold is such a crybaby. I had no issue with him getting clobbered.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^
He beat Rockhold, but he didn't get the belt ? Correct? He missed weight. would be interesting to see a rematch when Romero makes weight
February 11th, 2018 at 1:44 PM ^
it was an interim match and Romero is getting a title shot against Whitttaker so I'm not sure it matters much that he didn't get a belt last night.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:36 PM ^
The problem with trying to kick a wrestler like Romero. (Olympic silver medalist), is that it leaves you open to the takedown. And you really don't want that beast on top of you.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:54 PM ^
Maybe for a true striker, but Luke's an animal on the ground. Romero is a nasty takedown artist, but his submission game isn't as strong as Luke's. Both guys wanted it on the feet.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:40 PM ^
February 11th, 2018 at 1:56 PM ^
Yes, I did. Uriah Hall, world-renowned striker, is ranked ninth in middleweight. It's top-heavy, but every division is top-heavy. Middleweight just so happens to have more beasts at the top than any other division.
February 11th, 2018 at 1:42 PM ^
February 11th, 2018 at 1:59 PM ^
Yeah, the sport definitely isn't where it needs to be, but it's making progress. Right now the biggest problem seems to be phasing out legacy fighters who were part of the sport when it was wrought with juice.
February 11th, 2018 at 2:06 PM ^
that's an issue, but another issue for me is that it's oversaturated. there are a ton of average fighters in the UFC roster so they need to keep having events but the problem with that is the headliners for these Fight Night and Fox events are that they would be decent PPV bouts but not worthy of headlining an event imo.
February 11th, 2018 at 4:15 PM ^
True. Most of this can be attributed to how young the sport is in comparison to the majors (football, basketball, etc.). UFC 1 happened in 1993, and it didn't really pick up steam for years. The men's roster is just now beginning to fill out across multiple divisions.
February 11th, 2018 at 2:12 PM ^
Mmmmmm-Kay John. You must be just one of those naturally big guys. lol. And I do t have a problem with people using that stuff if they want to...but u shouldn’t be allowed to compete in a division WITH guys that DO follow the rules. PERIOD.
February 11th, 2018 at 4:17 PM ^
Cena can juice all he wants. Dramatic wrestling isn't a sport.
February 11th, 2018 at 11:27 PM ^