Though he missed weight and was ineligible to win interim middleweight gold at UFC 221, Yoel Romero made no mistake in the main event
UFC 221 took place Saturday (Sunday locally) in Perth, Australia. In the main event, Yoel Romero made so mistake, knocking out Luke Rockhold with a crushing left hand in the third round. It was a moment foreshadowed earlier in the fight, when Romero had his opponent cornered, and nearly got the finish then. Rockhold, however, escaped a mostly uneventful first round, a scarier second, and made it to the third, but was derailed when Romero put the lights out.
The win creates a bit of a mess in the 185lb weight class. Romero lost to middleweight champion Robert Whittaker just one fight ago. Rockhold was his first fight back, while Whittaker has not been in the octagon since their last meeting. That means the bout is far from anticipated — but with a number of top stars retiring, and Romero having dispatched Rockhold convincingly, it will likely happen nonetheless.
The big win by Romero was not lost on the pros, who immediately let their reactions loose on social media Saturday night.
The ego of Rockhold just die #ufc221
— patrick cote (@patrick_cote) February 11, 2018
Romero vs Whittaker 2 is what makes the most sense but just feels so weird with Romero missing weight and not winning the interim title tonight.. who doesn’t wanna see that one again tho?! #ufc221
— Shane Burgos (@HurricaneShaneB) February 11, 2018
Well …congrats to Yoel. Can’t wait to get back out there. #UFC221
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) February 11, 2018
That was scary! @YoelRomeroMMA 😱 congrats!!!!! @ufc
— Paige VanZant (@PaigeVanzantUFC) February 11, 2018
Wow light out. #UFCPerth
— Tito Ortiz (@titoortiz) February 11, 2018
FML!
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) February 11, 2018
Yoel is now the non-interim-interim champ of the world! 🙌🏿👑🚫 #UFC221 pic.twitter.com/0Sy1x3M33O
— The Spartan (@EliasTheodorou) February 11, 2018
😱😱😱 #UFC221
— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) February 11, 2018
Caption This. 😂 pic.twitter.com/Vf024ZZKqw
— Chase Sherman (@ChaseShermanUFC) February 11, 2018
I had @YoelRomeroMMA with the win. Good show lads #UFC221 https://t.co/Hq3R0WvZTl
— Jessy Jess (@missjessyjess) February 11, 2018
Well damn! Romero is a human buzz saw. That second punch was like a shotgun to the face. #UFC221
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) February 11, 2018
While it’s not the result Rockhold was looking for, perhaps this will prompt the move to light heavyweight he has been talking about lately.
