Yoel Romero did his best to make weight for his middleweight title fight with UFC champion Robert Whittaker tomorrow night (Sat., June 9, 2018) live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside United Center in Chicago, Ill., but ultimately came up .2 pounds short.
Luckily, the bout will still go on as planned, but “Soldier of God” will be ineligible to win the 185-pound title should he get past Whittaker in the rematch.
This should sound familiar. Romero missed championship weight for his last Octagon appearance against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221. That was for the interim middleweight title, but after coming in nearly three pounds overweight Romero was prohibited from claiming gold. He ended up defeating Rockhold via third-round knockout.
As a result of his UFC 225 weigh-in failure, Romero becomes the first fighter in UFC history to miss weight in back-to-back title fights. It’s something that stands out even among his best Octagon accomplishments, and a black eye on his promotional resume that former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping was so happy to point out.
“Who does this guy think he is?” Bisping said during the UFC 225 weigh-in show on FOX Sports 2. “He thinks the whole UFC revolves around him. … Making weight sucks. But you can’t miss weight twice on two title fights and still think you’re running the show. C’mon.”
To be fair, Bisping and Romero have developed bad blood over the past year or so. Bisping understands what the middleweight contender must have gone through, but still believes Romero should have soldiered up and dropped the weight he needed to lose.
“I’m not the first person to jump to Yoel Romero’s defense, but I will say this: It’s a tricky one,” Bisping said. “OK, he pushed himself too far to where he was within an inch of his life, that’s why the commission stepped in. But really? 0.2 pounds? That’s not a lot. Forgive me for being crude, but you can go to the bathroom and get rid of that pretty quick.”
The show will go on with Romero challenging Whittaker in a rematch tomorrow at UFC 225. It will not be for the belt, but a victory for “Soldier of God” could solidify his position as the best 185-pound fighter on the planet.
But would he deserve such praise in light of his recent weigh-cut struggles? Bisping doesn’t think so.
“If you miss weight twice, boom, you’re cut from the organization,” Bisping said. “Or you take a point. That’s a great suggestion.”
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