With a thunderous left hand, Yoel Romero put Luke Rockhold to sleep in the main event of UFC 221.
At Perth’s UFC 221 on Saturday (Sunday local time), the main event was only a title bout for Luke Rockhold, as Yoel Romero missed weight by three pounds at the official weigh-ins. It was an interesting match-up on paper, as Romero would likely look to get Rockhold out of the bout early, having accepted the fight on short notice. That came when middleweight champ Robert Whittaker dropped out of the originally scheduled title fight due to injury.
From the outset, the fight didn’t go as planned. Round one started with Rockhold throwing a leg kick that Yoel Romero checked, which caused a cut on Luke’s leg. There wasn’t much action in the first, as both fighters appeared to be feeling each other out. Rockhold was definitely the aggressor however, as he pushed the pace and landed numerous kicks to the legs of Romero.
Round two began with Romero more aggressive. He quickly and opened a small cut over Rockhold’s eye. The round mostly consisted of Rockhold attempting to use his kicks to cover range and Romero using flurries in order to try and hurt Rockhold, before becoming more passive. Rockhold showed his jab a little in the round, and was appearing to become more comfortable with his hands.
Round three began with more of the same, however Romero began pushing the pace more. Eventually he backed Luke up to the cage and unleashed an amazingly powerful left hand that slept Luke Rockhold! My goodness, what a finish! However despite the amazing victory, one has to wonder what’s next for Yoel Romero. Despite winning the bout, he could not capture the interim belt, due to missing weight. Beyond that, he only recently lost to the champion Whittaker.
YOEL ROMERO SAYS NO MORE INTERIM TITLES #UFC221 pic.twitter.com/OZ1i0dPSUj
— Robbie Fox (@RobbieBarstool) February 11, 2018
Yoel Romero def. Luke Rockhold by knockout, Round 3, 1:48
