Despite failing to make weight earlier today for his main event clash with UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker tomorrow night (Sat., June 9, 2018) at UFC 225, Yoel Romero will still come to fight.
Romero, who lost to Whittaker via decision back at UFC 213, wasn’t sure if he’d be cleared by the Illinois State Athletic Commission (ISAC) after being on death’s door following his grueling weight cut. Luckily for fight fans everywhere, “Soldier of God” will dress tomorrow night and battle Whittaker in a main event rematch.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the news earlier tonight on the UFC 225 Weigh-In Show on FOX Sports 2.
Dana White announces on the #UFC225 weigh-in broadcast: “The fight’s on, that’s all that matters.”
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) June 8, 2018
After Whittaker made it public that he still wanted a piece of Romero, whether or not the title was on the line, fight fans gained some hope that the bout will still take place. But after seeing Romero show up to the UFC 225 ceremonial weigh ins (video replay here) and have an intense stare down with Whittaker, the combat community breathed a sigh of relief.
Romero, who was clearly disappointed about his botched weight cut on stage, confirmed that the ISAC put an early stop to his secondary weight cut earlier today.
Romero confirming my earlier report that the Illinois commission stopped his cut when he believed he had an hour left.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 8, 2018
After all of this mess, one of the best cards of 2018 remains in tact.
UFC 225 will go down live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside United Center in Chicago, Illinois, and also feature a co-main event interim title fight between top welterweight contenders Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington.