Hector Lombard and Yoel Romero are two fast-rising contenders in the UFC’s welterweight and middleweight divisions. The hard-hitting, technically efficient Cubans are both coming off wins and share similar skill sets.
Romero and Lombard are both pursuing UFC gold late in their careers; they are 37 and 36 years old respectively. Both came into the organization without any background in mixed martial arts, and were highly touted specialists in Judo and wrestling. As good as they’re on the ground, both Romero and Lombard have a penchant for brawling, knocking out six of their 10 UFC opponents. They each have competed in multiple weight classes and possess eerily identical body types. While they may never cross paths, it would be fun to take a look at this fantasy matchup.
Romero has gone undefeated in his five-fight UFC run, winning all but one fight via KO or TKO. His hands are his most useful weapon. Romero is intelligent in his stand-up efforts, although he throws a lot of power into his punches, he’s always throwing from a variety of angles. He also uses his hands to set up the takedown, and his shot is something you don’t want to miss.
The former Olympic freestyle wrestler is not afraid to be daring, throwing knees and a multitude of kicks at his foes, which have led to spectacular results. Romero has two Fight of the Night Awards on his resume already. He’s far from a one-trick pony, but his limited sample size solicits questions. Romero has gotten off to slow starts before, as seen with Derek Brunson.
“For 10 minutes in this fight, Brunson looked great. He took the Olympic silver medalist down and landed some potent punches and kicks while displaying absurd power,” said Bleacher Report’s Steven Rondina earlier this year.
The fact that Romero was taken down by a wrestler with obviously less skill than him is alarming. He competed in various wrestling tournaments for several years, winning a couple of gold medals in the process. If we needed answers, we received them in Romero’s latest controversial win over Tim Kennedy.
After arguably splitting two rounds, a delay in the Cuban’s corner allowed for more rest. Romero had been rocked moments before by a series of right and left hooks. He then came out in the third round and put the then-sixth-ranked middleweight’s lights out.
At 37, with one more top-10 win, Romero could stake his claim for a shot at the title. His fellow American Top Team teammate, Lombard, is also on the path to a welterweight title shot; a shot he would’ve had if he had not stumbled out of the gate against Tim Boetsch.
The 36-year-old came into the UFC with high expectations. Lombard was the owner of a 20-fight win streak at the time and was a former Bellator middleweight champion. He is also a decorated Judo champion, winning gold in three International Judo Federation events. After going 1-2 at middleweight in the UFC, with a pair of split-decision losses to blame, Lombard dropped to welterweight and has since went undefeated.
Lombard, like Romero, fights out of the southpaw stance and has a similar stand-up game. He has a good straight left and a thunderous right hook. Compared to his middleweight lackey, his style is a bit more traditional, and has only recently been able to fully implement all facets of his game plan.
He never really has threatened anyone with his resounding Judo. You have to wonder what his record might be in the UFC if Lombard was more aggressive in the Boetsch and Okami fights. You could chalk it up to octagon jitters or problems with cardio, but he has went the distance several times in the past.
With such a good Judo base, there’s no way he should’ve allowed Okami to control him. It wasn’t until the Jake Shields fight that we saw the complete package unleashed by Lombard. He took the former welterweight contender down five times.
Now, let’s get to the fun part: Picking apart the matchup. First, let’s talk striking. Between the two, they own 27 KO wins. Romero has obviously faced less in the way of competition, not only in terms of amount of fights but quality as well, but that still doesn’t take anything away from his accomplishments in the UFC. Romero has dispatched foes rather easily, and hasn’t had his chin tested, other than in the Kennedy fight. His striking is also a lot more versatile than his welterweight counterpart’s.
Lombard will never be mistaken for Dominick Cruz in terms of quickness or footwork. He’s more of a straight-line puncher or a boxer, kind of like a Nick Diaz. Another strike against Lombard, is the fact that he has been gun shy. Romero is always down to trade leather so he gets the nod here.
The ground game is a toss up. Which is more superior, Judo or wrestling? Each fighter has given us a glimpse into what they can do on the mat with recent performances, but only one has used it to win a fight and that’s Lombard. He put on a masterful Judo clinic against American jiu-jitsu artist Shields, while Romero hasn’t beaten people with his wrestling and rightfully so. It’s just not as entertaining as a highlight-reel KO. Lombard gets the nod.
In a close final tally, the winner in this matchup of bruising Cuban UFC contenders is Yoel Romero. Romero picks up the win because his striking skills are more developed than Lombard’s and his wrestling is just as dominant as his Judo.
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