Yoel Romero had quite a night for himself at UFC Fight Night 70. In one sudden and savage burst, the Cuban middleweight contender destroyed Lyoto Machida with a volley of elbows midway through the third round of the night’s main event, cementing himself as a legitimate challenger to the division’s throne with the single most impressive victory of his entire career. Then he went out and delivered a post-fight speech that may or may not have been aimed at the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision to legalize same-sex marriage — although what exactly Romero said was hard to determine between his thick accent and broken English.
Either way, the entire scene got the MMA world talking.
Interested in seeing how/if the smaller cage will influence machida…. #UFCFlorida
— Zachary Makovsky (@ZachFunSize) June 28, 2015
How many right kicks was that from Yoel? Right kick, right kick…………………..right kick
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
Looks like machida is drawing him into deeper waters, but I may be wrong
— Ryan Jimmo (@RyanJimmo) June 28, 2015
Me “ohh damn that was a min break?” Wife “yeah, he must have got off the stool in time” LoL ohh shit
— Big Ben Rothwell (@RothwellFighter) June 28, 2015
Don’t start bloody high fiving lol
— michael (@bisping) June 28, 2015
1-1 going into the 3rd. Wish Romero would at least threaten with the takedown. His athleticism is scary though #UFCHollywood
— Cody Gibson (@TheRenegade559) June 28, 2015
Machida slowing I think….
— Zachary Makovsky (@ZachFunSize) June 28, 2015
Romero is so effective and awkward. He’s gonna give a lot of guys trouble.
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
Wow!! elbow city
— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) June 28, 2015
Oh hell. That was nasty. #UFCFlorida
— James Krause (@TheJamesKrause) June 28, 2015
Dayummmmmmm those elbows were viscous @ufc #UFCHollywood #UFCFlorida
— Ray Borg (@tazmexufc) June 28, 2015
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) June 28, 2015
Romero a beast.
— Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) June 28, 2015
Now that was insane. @UFC #UFCFlorida Congrats Yoel!
— Elias Silvério (@eliasxuxumma) June 28, 2015
That security guard had his life flash before his eyes when Romero ran toward him
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
Epic KO win for my bro @YoelRomeroMMA against machida. Give this man a title shot! #UFCFlorida @ufc @UFCONFOX
— Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA) June 28, 2015
Wow!!!! Those elbows were nasty!!!
— chad mendes (@chadmendes) June 28, 2015
@YoelRomeroMMA is so explosive with great timing…brutal elbows! #UFCFlorida
— Chris Kelades (@keladesmma) June 28, 2015
Great main event & card awesome fight by Romero but, it’s always sad to see an old Dawg like @lyotomachidafw @ufc
— Seth Baczynski (@Sethbmma) June 28, 2015
Man strength there. Threw him down, a few short elbows and game over. #UFCHollywood
— Scott Holtzman (@HotSauceHoltzy) June 28, 2015
Great job @JohnMcCarthyMMA making sure when you got in there @lyotomachidafw didn’t receive anymore damage. Tough one to watch tho. @ufc
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) June 28, 2015
So… @YoelRomeroMMA just became my favorite fighter lol… Aside from myself 😉
— Michael McDonald (@MaydayMcDonald) June 28, 2015
Rockhold vs Romero. Take my money. #UFCFlorida
— James Krause (@TheJamesKrause) June 28, 2015
@YoelRomeroMMA a beast of a man!!
— Joseph duffy (@Duffy_MMA) June 28, 2015
If Romero was American he would be a superstar
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
Romero is a monster. Romero é um Monstro.
— THALES LEITES (@thalesleites) June 28, 2015
Uh-oh …. #UFCFlorida
— Zachary Makovsky (@ZachFunSize) June 28, 2015
…………………. (Lost for words)
— michael (@bisping) June 28, 2015
Wait……no Romero… Just no. He’s gonna get a PR visit now
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
Why Romero why.
— Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) June 28, 2015
Idk maybe I’m tripping but sounds like Yoel was about to go at the USA for making Gay Marriage legal. Am I tripping?
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
I’m pretty sure he just yelled a bunch of homophobic stuff but it was so hard to understand that no one is sure if they’re offended or not.
— Andre Fili (@TouchyFili) June 28, 2015
At least most people probably had no idea what was happening… #RomeroLovesJesus #UFCFlorida
— Zachary Makovsky (@ZachFunSize) June 28, 2015
“No gay Jesus USA” – Yoel Romero #UFCFlorida #yoelsays
— Chris Kelades (@keladesmma) June 28, 2015
All I understood was “wake up America” from Yoel Romero.
— Efrain Escudero (@effyescudero) June 28, 2015
Hahaha shoutout Jon Anik for holding it together and tryna get the interview back on track like pic.twitter.com/QpR0zNNCRi
— Andre Fili (@TouchyFili) June 28, 2015
I am going to Church tomorrow now. #yoelsays
— Brian Stann (@BrianStann) June 28, 2015
Bruuuuuuuh… https://t.co/EeYsmwdz2n
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…………… Riiiiiiiiiiiiight…….. #UFCFlorida #mouthdiarrhea pic.twitter.com/lBKYjXy4OW
— Ricardo Lamas (@RicardoLamasMMA) June 28, 2015
Did Romero say Go for Jesus not Gay Jesus? I didn’t know there was a Gay Jesus. Either way I think he should give Gay Jesus a chance.
— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) June 28, 2015
Well I thought I was bad at doing post fight interview ! #gayJesusPeople #stool
— Olivier Aubin (@MMAOAM) June 28, 2015
I thought Yoel said “Get back to Jesus” not anything about “gays”…. Am I wrong? Was hard to understand
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) June 28, 2015
Everybody on the post fight panel is holding it together but you know they all want to go “DID HE REALLY JUST FUCKIN SAY THAT?”
— Andre Fili (@TouchyFili) June 28, 2015
I just don’t think it’s a good idea to come to a foreign country and insult their morals and policy. I’m tripping
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
A tremendous athletic performance by Romero was erased by an ignorant and embarrassing comment. #UFCHollywood
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 28, 2015
Where can I ship one of these to Yoel? pic.twitter.com/gDUEA4XYnO
— Coach (@CMPunk) June 28, 2015
LORENZ LARKIN DEF. SANTIAGO PONZINIBBIO
What did Larkin say to his barber when he sat down? How does he explain this
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
Larkin is looking sharp!! Loving this scrap so far!
— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) June 28, 2015
Damn @da_MONSOON putting it on him @ufc
— FranCisco Rivera (@CiscoRiveraUFC) June 28, 2015
Larkin is gonna be a contender at 170. Athletic, slick striking, impressive #UFCHollywood
— Cody Gibson (@TheRenegade559) June 28, 2015
Herb hates that man #UFC
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) June 28, 2015
Very sharp with good speed and power but I agree… https://t.co/BErqjgm9w7
— Zachary Makovsky (@ZachFunSize) June 28, 2015
Performance of the night for @da_MONSOON gotta be!
— michael (@bisping) June 28, 2015
Nice finish
— Ryan Jimmo (@RyanJimmo) June 28, 2015
What a finish. He fought his heart out! #UFCFlorida
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) June 28, 2015
Wow… @SPonzinibbioMMA taking punches like a Zombie! @da_MONSOON is so fast and smooth #UFCFlorida
— Chris Kelades (@keladesmma) June 28, 2015
@da_MONSOON way to represent for the Kung Fu fighters!
— James Moontasri (@jmoontasri) June 28, 2015
@da_MONSOON hair may have not been on point but damn….those hands were lethal!
— Roger Narvaez (@Silverback316) June 28, 2015
Fuck yeah Riverside Mother Fucker @da_MONSOON congrats #UFCFightNight #riverside951
— Georgi Karakhanyan (@georgimma) June 28, 2015
Indescribable feeling when a close friend is in a war. Good job to both my brothers @da_MONSOON @JoeySlash pic.twitter.com/0gmmJi01Ae
— Saad Awad (@SAADMMA) June 28, 2015
Larkin is crisp, nice finish. Time for the main event it’s gonna be crazy! #UFCHollywood
— Scott Holtzman (@HotSauceHoltzy) June 28, 2015
Lorenz Larkin has hit his prime. Be ready to enjoy it people
— Cody Bollinger (@CodyBollinger) June 28, 2015
ANTONIO CARLOS JUNIOR DEF. EDDIE GORDON
@TruckMMA_UFC will be back!!
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) June 28, 2015
Cara de sapato lutou inteligente e finalizou na hora certa. Parabéns feio @acjr_sapato Foght smart and submit at the right time. Congrats
— THALES LEITES (@thalesleites) June 28, 2015
Desempenho sensacional e ótima estreia como médio do @acjr_sapato! Got the job done! Impressive performance by Sapato! #UFCFlorida @UFC
— Elias Silvério (@eliasxuxumma) June 28, 2015
BJJ time…..Linda finalização @acjr_sapato ….. “Paraíba neles” https://t.co/EWZGGp23BV
— Antonio Pezao Silva (@BigfootSilva) June 28, 2015
Cara de Sapato em ação @acjr_sapato #UFCFlorida pic.twitter.com/tf1ceofuCa
— Gilbert DurinhoBurns (@GilbertDurinho) June 28, 2015
Very happy that my boy won @acjr_sapato
— Hector Lombard (@HectorLombard) June 28, 2015
Kimbo Slice would’ve gotten out of that RNC. #JustSaying
— Vinny Magalhaes (@VinnyMMA) June 28, 2015
THIAGO SANTOS DEF. STEVE BOSSE
Oh snap that was a violent KO! #UFCHollywood #ShinOnChin
— Chris Kelades (@keladesmma) June 28, 2015
Brutal
— Ruslan Magomedov (@MagomedovUFC) June 28, 2015
Daaaaaammmnnnn!! (smokey voice) #UFCFlorida
— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) June 28, 2015
Sick ko #UFCFlorida
— Chito Vera (@chitoveraUFC) June 28, 2015
BRING OUT THE MAC TRUCK!! Oh yea, nasty headkick KO!! #UFCFlorida
— Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMaster_UFC) June 28, 2015
Wowwwww @tmarretamma beautiful KO…. Lindo demais esse chutao… “Isso é um famoso coice de… https://t.co/30tbC8yYGa
— Antonio Pezao Silva (@BigfootSilva) June 28, 2015
Wow…what a knockout. #UFCHollywood
— Scott Holtzman (@HotSauceHoltzy) June 28, 2015
What a ko!!! Congrats Marreta tirou onda. Parabéns @TMarretaMMA
— THALES LEITES (@thalesleites) June 28, 2015
Ouch! #UFCFlorida
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) June 28, 2015
WOW! That was nasty!! @TMarretaMMA @UFC #UFCFlorida
— Elias Silvério (@eliasxuxumma) June 28, 2015
Thiago Santos is a BOSS. I hope someone gets that corny joke #UFCHollywood
— Cody Gibson (@TheRenegade559) June 28, 2015
Holy shit!! I need to start doing that..
— STORMIN NORMAN PARKE (@norman_parke) June 28, 2015
Damn and Santos just won 50k!
— James Vick (@JamesVickMMA) June 28, 2015
Holy Headkick!!! That was nasty @ufc #UFCFlorida #UFCFightNight
— Zak Cummings (@ZakCummings) June 28, 2015
HACRAN DIAS DEF. LEVAN MAKASHVILI
That was an grind… Great fight! I think Levan takes it with that last takedown
— Al Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) June 28, 2015
What kind of yell was that lol
— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) June 28, 2015
2×1 Hacram Dias
— Eduardo Dantas (@DuduDantasMMA) June 28, 2015
God that would have been a good matchup for me! @seanshelby @danawhite can I please have this match again?
— Chas Skelly (@ChasSkelly) June 28, 2015
Sooo manyyyy decisionssss. Most forgiving crowd ever. These fights would be cooler if dudes were actually fighting. #finishhim #UFCFlorida
— Josh Samman (@JoshSamman) June 28, 2015