Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight knockout artists Chris Weidman and Yoel Romero squared off last night (Nov. 12, 2016) at UFC 205 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Last night was a massive moment for Weidman for a number of reasons. Beyond getting to fight in his home city on a major card, Weidman was returning from his first career loss and another string of injuries. “All-American” had a lot to prove. While Romero hasn’t yet lost inside the Octagon, he did fail a drug test earlier in the year. He managed to escape a long suspension, but Romero still had to put on a strong performance in his first bout back to retain his position at the top of the division.
The first round was a showcase for the former champion. He opened the bout with a ton of kicks, chopping at his opponent’s leg and digging into the body. Before long, Weidman mixed in his first takedown attempt, landing a dump off the single leg. Romero sprung back to his feet without much trouble, but Weidman kept on him. After some time, Weidman’s punches began to land a bit as well, and Romero had little success landing much of anything.
Wherever the fight went, Weidman was in control.
After spending five minutes doing almost nothing, Romero turned it up in the second round. His counter punches were far more accurate and active, and he was able to defend all of the single leg takedowns. In the last two minutes, Romero looked for his own takedown and landed it. From there, he controlled the back clinch as Weidman attempted to scramble, tripping him back to the ground frequently.
Both men were a bit tired, but the final round would be the decider. Weidman came out looking to change things, attacking with a hard kick and pushing the pace. However, not even 30 seconds into the round, Weidman changed levels directly into a terrifyingly athletic flying knee.
That was all she wrote.
Romero is one of the oddest fighters on the roster. At 39 years old, he may just be the most athletic man on the roster. At times, his movements are unbelievably fast, and the man is capable of great acts of violence. Alternatively, he’ll go through long periods of doing absolutely nothing.
This is yet another third round knockout in the books for the Cuban. No one expects it, but he really does carry his knockout power into the final frame like few others. Most fighters’ finishing rates drop off dramatically after the first five minutes, but Romero can still throw extraordinary heat.
Michael Bisping will need to pull a real rabbit out of his hat if he wants to retain his strap.
For five minutes, Weidman was incredibly on point. His kicks were sharp, his wrestling was effective, and Weidman barely ate any punches. Then, everything fell apart. Part of that is because of conditioning. Weidman definitely slowed down in the second, though not all of that is his fault. Weidman was likely well-prepared to go three hard rounds, but a few of Romero’s body kicks landed clean.
That’ll change things.
Additionally, Weidman tried to force the fight too much in the third round. Like many others, Weidman assumed Romero was less dangerous, but the Cuban emphatically proved otherwise. Following this loss, a rematch with Luke Rockhold would make sense assuming both fighters are ever healthy at the same time again. If not, a step back in competition wouldn’t be the worst thing, so a fight with someone like Tim Boetsch would also work.
At UFC 205, Yoel Romero landed a devastating flying knee to end his opponent’s night. Will Romero win the title in his next bout?
For complete UFC 205: “Alvarez vs McGregor” results and play-by-play, click HERE!