Yoel Romero is fighting this weekend.
In a bit of news that literally came out of nowhere, the multi-time UFC title challenger will return to action on Saturday night in Miami under the Dirty Boxing Championship banner — a striking promotion co-owned by BKFC star ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry.
Romero, 47, is set to take on former Power Slap athlete Duane Crespo in a heavyweight bout per a report from MMA Junkie.
Wow @YoelRomeroMMA at Heavyweight is a scary man to be facing off against
pic.twitter.com/1vYaoXPNHk
— Dirty Boxing Championship (@DirtyBoxing_) November 22, 2024
Dirty Boxing Championship bouts are composed of three-minute rounds — five rounds for main events and championship matchups. Fighters will compete in five-ounce gloves inside a custom DBX ring where both ground and pound and elbows are permitted.
Yoel Romero last competed at PFL vs. Bellator in February
Romero will be competing in his first fight since a unanimous decision victory over Thiago Santos at the PFL vs. Bellator event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Before that, ‘Soldier of God’ had competed four times under the Bellator banner, going 2-2 in the process.
A silver medalist at the 2020 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Romero is best known for his UFC run where he was scheduled to fight for the middleweight title on four separate occasions. Two of those instances saw Romero fail to make the 185-pound limit, disqualifying him from winning the title in bouts against Luke Rockhold and Robert Whittaker.
Romero’s last chance at the strap came against Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 — a title tilt that went down as one of the worst fights in UFC history.
Dirty Boxing Championship is the brainchild of Mike Perry and his business partners, including former Karate Combat President Adam Kovacs, serial entrepreneur Josh McClean, and the accomplished Kawa brothers of First Round Management.
“It’s time to get dirty! We’ve been working so hard on this all year, I can’t wait for Saturday night,” Perry ahead of the promotion’s debut event. “Hands, elbows, ground and pound — these fights are going to be wild and they’re going to be up close and personal. I love that we’re doing this sort of underground launch event, it’s like a private fight club. We’ll release the tapes after the event but if you want to peek inside while the fights are going on, follow our social channels.”