Update (1:33 a.m.):
According to reports by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto and BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor, Luke Rockhold has agreed to fight Yoel Romero after all and keep UFC 221’s main event in tact.
Per source close to Rockhold: “it’s on.”
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 10, 2018
Breaking! Luke Rockhold vs Yoel Romero is still a GO for #UFC221! With a victory Rockhold will still claim the interim middleweight strap. The same cannot be said for Romero. #UFC
— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) February 10, 2018
Update (12:21 a.m):
Romero has failed his second attempt to make the 185-pound benchmark for his interim UFC middleweight title fight with Luke Rockhold later today (Sat., Feb. 10, 2018) at UFC 221 in Perth, Australia.
“Solider of God” ended his cut at 187.7 pounds. Check out his final weigh in above courtesy of Submission Radio.
What makes matters worse is that Rockhold has yet to agree to fight Romero at his heavier weight, essentially putting the PPV main event in limbo. And even if Rockhold agrees to step inside of the cage, Romero would be ineligible to win the interim title after missing weight.
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Things can never go smoothly when it comes to a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise earlier tonight (Fri., Feb. 9, 2018) at the UFC 221 weigh ins in Perth, Australia, when Yoel Romero came in at 188.3 pounds for his main event interim middleweight title fight against Luke Rockhold.
Romero will have his allotted two hour time slot to drop the final pounds and match the same 185-pound benchmark that Rockhold hit.
For complete UFC 221 weigh ins results click here.
While “Soldier of God” looks like a light heavyweight competing in a class far from his natural weight, he has never had trouble making 185 pounds. That successful streak spans nine UFC appearances, including a five-round title fight just seven months ago that required Romero to hit the middleweight mark.
For now, Romero will relinquish his ability to win the interim middleweight title tomorrow live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Perth Arena. Rockhold is still in play, but if “Soldier of God” is victorious, current champion Robert Whittaker will be the only one in the division with UFC gold.
Stick with Mania for ongoing updates on Romero’s final cut.