Yoel Romero came in heavy on his first attempt weighing in for UFC 225, and despite being given an extra two hours, missed the mark again, putting the card’s main event in jeopardy.
With all the talk of weigh-ins and weight cutting this past week, stemming from blown weight cuts by the likes of Mackenzie Dern and Darren Till, it seems rather fitting that once again, a major UFC card has been thrown into turmoil due to a weight cut gone wrong. Stepping on the scales in Chicago on Friday morning at the UFC 225 early weigh-ins, Yoel Romero missed championship weight for his middleweight title fight against Robert Whittaker, coming in at 186lbs. Which would have been all fine and dandy, had it not been a title fight.
Granted an additional two hours to make weight by the Illinois Athletic Commission, a tired, worn, and frankly dejected looking Romero made his way back to the scales just prior to 1PM local time. Gingerly stepping upon that scale, it felt as if Romero knew something had gone horribly wrong. And it had. ‘The Soldier of God’ remained heavy, just a shade over the middleweight limit at 185.2lbs.
All that means that the title fight, at least, is off. Yoel Romero will not be eligible to fight for the middleweight title, and the miss marks his second in a row. Romero also missed weight for an interim title fight against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 earlier this year. That fight was taken on short notice, however, and the UFC elected to give him a title shot regardless.
Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who made weight for the bout, will have the option of declining the bout. It may still go forward, but once again, a weight cut has scuttled a key fight in the UFC, at least in terms of the stakes.
UFC 225 Weigh-In Results:
MAIN CARD
- Champion Robert Whittaker (185) vs. Yoel Romero (185.2) – for UFC middleweight title
- Colby Covington (169) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (169) – for UFC interim welterweight title
- Megan Anderson (146) vs. Holly Holm (146)
- Andrei Arlovski (249) vs. Tai Tuivasa (261)
- Phil “CM Punk” Brooks (169) vs. Mike Jackson (170.5)
PRELIMIMARY CARD
- Curtis Blaydes (254) vs. Alistair Overeem (244)
- Carla Esparza (116) vs. Claudia Gadelha (116)
- Mirsad Bektic (146) vs. Ricardo Lamas (145)
- Rashad Coulter (247) vs. Chris De La Rocha (261)
PRELIMIMARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass)
- Rashad Evans (205) vs. Anthony Smith (206)
- Joseph Benavidez (125.5) vs. Sergio Pettis (126)
- Clay Guida (154) vs. Charles Oliveira (155)
- Dan Ige (146) vs. Mike Santiago (145)
