UFC on Fox 15 has been dealt quite the blow with news breaking that middleweight contender Yoel Romero is withdrawing from his co-main event bout with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. The news was first broken by MMAFighting.com’s Luke Thomas.
Romero reportedly suffered a ligament and meniscus tear that will force him out of the fight and could potentially keep him out of the cage for a prolonged period of time.
While it is unclear whether the tear was partial or full, Khabib Nurmagomedov suffered a torn meniscus in July and has been out of the cage since (he is slated to return opposite Donald Cerrone in May). Similarly, Cain Velasquez was forced out of his UFC 180 bout with Fabricio Werdum due to a partial meniscus tear and was unable to train for several months after undergoing surgery.
This is not the first time a bout between Souza and Romero has been scrapped. The two were slated to face off in February at UFC 184, but the bout was called off when Souza withdrew due to a case of pneumonia. It was then rescheduled for UFC on Fox 15.
The injury is a huge setback for the surging Romero. The Olympic silver medalist is 5-0 in the UFC, most recently scoring an impressive (albeit controversial) knockout over Tim Kennedy. A win over Souza almost certainly would have vaulted him directly into title contention, and at 37 years old, the time he spends recovering will come at a premium.
It is unknown whether the UFC will look for a replacement opponent for Souza or pull him off the card entirely. Keep an eye out here for more updates on the story as they become available.
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