Yoel Romero missed weight for the second time of his career at yesterday’s UFC 225 weigh-ins, but ‘The Soldier of God’ claims the Illinois athletic commission stopped his weight cut early.
Romero, who missed weight in his previous bout with Luke Rockhold at UFC 221, a fight he won via third-round knockout, originally weighed in at 186 pounds at yesterday’s official weigh-ins and was given an extra two hours to make 185 pounds.
When he hit the scales again, the Cuban came in .2 lbs overweight but claims the commission only gave him one hour to cut the extra weight.
“I needed two hours, and the commission would only give me one,” Romero said in response to the criticism, per MMA Junkie’s Steven Marrocco. “It was the commission’s decision.”
The fight is still on, but Romero is no longer eligible to win the middleweight title, and the former Olympian will be forced to forfeit 20 percent of his purse to opponent Robert Whittaker.
Romero is understandably frustrated with the commission’s decision to rule the bout a non-title fight and is campaigning to reverse the decision and fight Whittaker, who beat Romero via unanimous decision to win the interim belt last year, for the official middleweight belt. Even if Romero wins, ‘The Reaper’ will still get to keep the 185-pound title as things currently stand.
“We came here to fight for the title,” Romero said after the ceremonial weigh-ins, where he received a chorus of boos from the local crowd “I came here for the title fight. It’s not only a fight for a fight – I want to fight for the title. And the commission… made this mistake.
“We want to fight for the title. That’s what we want. I don’t know what they’re going to do.”
UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2 takes place later tonight, June 9 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. READ MORE
Romero, who missed weight in his previous bout with Luke Rockhold at UFC 221, a fight he won via third-round knockout, originally weighed in at 186 pounds at yesterday’s official weigh-ins and was given an extra two hours to make 185 pounds.
When he hit the scales again, the Cuban came in .2 lbs overweight but claims the commission only gave him one hour to cut the extra weight.
“I needed two hours, and the commission would only give me one,” Romero said in response to the criticism, per MMA Junkie’s Steven Marrocco. “It was the commission’s decision.”
Romero is understandably frustrated with the commission’s decision to rule the bout a non-title fight and is campaigning to reverse the decision and fight Whittaker, who beat Romero via unanimous decision to win the interim belt last year, for the official middleweight belt. Even if Romero wins, ‘The Reaper’ will still get to keep the 185-pound title as things currently stand.
“We came here to fight for the title,” Romero said after the ceremonial weigh-ins, where he received a chorus of boos from the local crowd “I came here for the title fight. It’s not only a fight for a fight – I want to fight for the title. And the commission… made this mistake.
“We want to fight for the title. That’s what we want. I don’t know what they’re going to do.”
UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2 takes place later tonight, June 9 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. READ MORE
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