Tim Kennedy: 'I actually think Yoel Romero is better than Vitor Belfort'

Top Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight contender Tim Kennedy was hoping to fight Vitor Belfort (get in line, bub), but by his estimation, "The Phenom" will never be clean. As a result, Plan B is Yoel Romero, who greets the Strikeforce import at the UFC 178 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sept. 27, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And according to Kennedy's comments on Submission Radio, Romero will likely provide a stiffer test.

"I wanted Vito Belfort. Well, I wanted a clean Vitor Belfort. Apparently that wasn't possible. So Yoel is really good. He's very talented. You know I actually think he's better than Vitor Belfort and he poses a lot of problems. He's not a big name. He only has four fights with the UFC, he's 4-0, he's a very, very, very talented athlete, and he's a very good fighter. So Joe Silva asked me to fight him, and you know I'm not a big fish, I only have three fights in the UFC, I can't say no. So if he says 'Hey, this is the guy I want you to fight', my response is 'Cool, let's do it'."

Just to be on the safe side, the decorated Army veteran is asking for a glass of Cuban lemonade.

Romero won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in wrestling, but has made headlines for his seven knockouts in eight wins. While he's undoubtedly a more savvy ground fighter than "The Phenom," it might be too early to call him "better" than Belfort.

Then again, that may depend on which version we're referring to.