Yoel Romero Is Done Chasing Michael Bisping
Yoel Romero is undoubtedly deserving of a 185-pound title shot.
The No. 1-ranked UFC middleweight contender has won an incredible eight straight fights, with six of those victories coming by way of stoppage. The former Olympic silver medalist has scored notable wins over the likes of Tim Kennedy, Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Chris Weidman, most recently flooring Weidman with a vicious flying knee at UFC 205 last November.
After his victory at UFC 205 in New York City, Romero was all but promised a title shot against champion Michael Bisping, but he was forced to take a seat when UFC President Dana White announced this past March that Bisping would next be defending his title against returning former welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
Since that announcement, little progress has been made towards making the fight official and White recently pulled the plug on the bout, saying that Bisping would fight Romero next instead. Ironically, “The Count” has now said that his knee injury is not healed and that he’ll be waiting till November for a showdown with St. Pierre.
With that being said, Romero took to his official Twitter account to announce that he’s moving past a bout with Bisping, saying that he’ll now focus his attention towards the next contender put in front of him:
The page on @bisping has been turned. My focus now is on who’s next? I will be your champion @ufc I will be your #soldier #ynuevo @dioxyme
— Peoples Champ (@YoelRomeroMMA) May 18, 2017
As far as who he could fight next, Romero does indeed have some options. Despite his incredible win streak, he has yet to compete against the three contenders sitting behind him.
After losing his title in shocking fashion to Bisping at UFC 199 last June, No. 2-ranked former champion Luke Rockhold was scheduled to rematch Souza last November, but he was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a knee injury. He has recently voiced his displeasure with the UFC’s matchmaking, but if he returns to full health in the near future, a bout between him and “The Solider of God” would make quite a bit of sense.
No. 3-ranked Robert Whittaker is coming off of an upset stoppage victory over “Jacare” at UFC on FOX 24 in Kansas, City in which he established himself as a legitimate title threat in the division. The UFC could match up the 26-year-old Australian contender with Romero in what would be an exciting title eliminator bout.
Finally, No. 4-ranked former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi has recently hit his stride, scoring five consecutive victories, with four of those victories coming in impressive stoppage fashion. His most recent win, however, was a highly controversial one over Weidman at UFC 210 in Buffalo this past April. Either way, he remains a veteran of the sport and a bout between him and Romero would certainly pit two of the division’s very best against each other.
Of course, Romero should be rewarded the next 185-pound title shot if Bisping isn’t fighting St. Pierre, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the champion campaign hard for a ‘money fight’ with the Canadian star.
Who would you like to see “The Solider of God” take on next?
