Yoel Romero prevailed in UFC 221’s main event, but should he get the next middleweight title shot even though he missed weight?
The UFC interim middleweight title went to… absolutely no one on Saturday night. Yoel Romero missed weight for his UFC 221 showdown vs. Luke Rockhold, so the interim belt was only on the line for Rockhold, and Romero knocked him out cold in round 3.
Dana White said that the UFC plans to have Romero fight Whittaker next, despite the Cuban missing weight for the first time in his career.
Middleweight is a disorganized mess at the moment, with none of the top-5 contenders possessing even a two-fight win streak. With Rockhold out of the equation, that realistically leaves the UFC with four options for Whittaker:
Yoel Romero
Pros: 9-1 at middleweight, including wins over Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza, and Chris Weidman.
Cons: Just missed weight for the Rockhold fight, and his one loss came against Whittaker not even a year ago.
Chris Weidman
Pros: A former UFC champion, coming off a submission win vs. Kelvin Gastelum, hasn’t fought Whittaker thus making him a “fresh challenger.”
Cons: That Gastelum win snapped a three-fight losing streak, and he’d be leapfrogging one of the men who beat him (Romero).
Jacare Souza
Pros: Just knocked out Derek Brunson… that’s pretty much it, to be honest.
Cons: Knocked out by Robert Whittaker last year.
Kelvin Gastelum
Pros: Knocked out former champion Michael Bisping, has only one loss at middleweight.
Cons: Bisping is effectively his only great win at middleweight, and he was choked out by Weidman just two fights ago.
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So what say you? Vote in the poll below for your thoughts on who should be Whittaker’s next opponent.