We were close to seeing Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman once again next month.
The pair of middleweights first met at UFC 205 back in November 2016 in what was a pretty even contest. That was until Romero exploded early on in the third round with a vicious flying knee that busted Weidman open and quickly ended the fight.
Just over three years on, Weidman almost got his chance to exact revenge at UFC 250 on May 9 until an injury to Romero as well as the postponement of UFC events derailed those plans according the latter’s manager.
”They actually offered us Weidman for this next fight, but Yoel has an orbital eye injury, and I was waiting to see if I could get him cleared to fight May 9, and they canceled the event,” Malki Kawa said on an Instagram live video chat (via MMA Fighting).
Weidman was originally set to face Jack Hermansson at UFC Oklahoma City on May 2 next month. But due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation with Hermansson unable to travel, plans changed by the day as he accepted new opponents — including Romero.
Interestingly, it would have taken place at 205 pounds had the fight come to fruition. Romero has already gone on record stating why he prefers not to fight at light heavyweight.
But according to Kawa, it all depends on the circumstances.
”He might fight Weidman at 205, or anybody at 205 depending on how much time we have to get prepared,” Kawa added. “If not, he’s going to fight mostly at 185.”
Who would you have taken in a Romero vs. Weidman rematch?