Exclusive: Dan Lambert Believes Illinois Athletic Commissioner Stopped Yoel Romero’s UFC 225 Weight Cut To Attend Cubs Game

Yoel Romero went through one of the most disturbing weight cuts in recent mixed martial arts (MMA) memory back in June of last year. The 42-year-old Cuban powerhouse missed weight for his UFC middleweight championship fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC 225. After missing weight, Romero could be seen grimacing in pain as he left […]

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Yoel Romero went through one of the most disturbing weight cuts in recent mixed martial arts (MMA) memory back in June of last year.

The 42-year-old Cuban powerhouse missed weight for his UFC middleweight championship fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC 225. After missing weight, Romero could be seen grimacing in pain as he left back to his hotel room. Romero initially missed weight upon his first try but was given a second attempt after being cleared by doctors. Per the Illinois Athletic Commission rule, a fighter will receive two hours to make the weight on their second attempt.

However, Romero’s time was cut short for unexplained reasons. Romero only received about 30 minutes of the two hours. American Top Team (ATT) owner Dan Lambert tells LowKickMMA he believes it was so the commissioner could attend a Cubs game.

“I thought Yoel won that fight,” Romero said. “I thought the score was terrible, I thought worst-case scenario you could have an argument that it was a draw. But I don’t think there’s any way he lost that fight. As far as making weight, when he got that fight, it was on relatively short notice and his foot was even in a walking boot.

So the weight is concerning, but he certainly had a reason for it, plus there’s a long story about what happened with the commission. He was getting two hours to go make weight, they cut that short to 30 minutes because the commissioner wanted to go make a Cubs game that afternoon. So that was kind of a joke as well.”

Lambert detailed how Romero’s second attempt at making weight went down. “The Soldier Of God” rested a bit before jumping into a bath to resume his weight cut. However, just five minutes into his bath, the commissioner ordered Romero back downstairs to weigh-in, leaving about an hour and a half of his given time on the table. The commissioner threatened if Romero didn’t come down to weigh-in, he wouldn’t be fighting.

“It was one of the biggest crocks of sh*t I’ve ever seen in this business,” Lambert said. “Yoel went to the weigh-ins and he was a pound over. They give you two hours to make weight if the doctors deem that you’re physically fit enough and it’s safe for you to make the cut. They looked at him, they said, ‘Yup, he’s fine, go to your room.’ We went to the room, he had – I believe it was two hours to make the weight. So they said ‘Hey, no rush, we’ll chill out a bit and then take a little 15-minute bath, we’ll get under the covers for another 10 minutes, we’ll walk down and be fine.’

“And he relaxed, he chilled out. The UFC doctors were there, the commission doctors were there, he just laid in bed, chilled out for a little bit, ate a little bit of fruit. And then he got in the tub and five minutes into the bath the commission doctor got on the phone and said, ‘Oh, the head commissioner says to be down here in five minutes or he’s not going to fight.’ We go, ‘What do you mean? We have like an hour and a half left?’ They go, ‘Nope, she says he has to be there right now.’ ‘What do you mean he has to be there right now?’ ‘She says he has to be there right now.’

“And he had to get out of the bath, he had no time to extend his bath time, he had no time to sit under the sheets from the bath. Got up, walked downstairs, and what did he miss it by, a pound and a half or something? It was ridiculous. It wasn’t because the doctors said he could no longer continue. Then later, someone told me they saw the commissioner at the Cubs game that afternoon.

“They gave no explanation whatsoever as to why he wasn’t given the time he was supposed to be given to make the weight. And then they just said it was her decision, and then she’s at a Cubs game, so you do the math.”

Lambert was understandably furious about the entire situation, summing up the ordeal as “a f*cking joke.”

“It’s a f*cking joke,” Lambert said. “If the rules say, that you get two hours if you’re physically fit, then you get two hours. It’s not you get a half-hour, you get 37 minutes, you get 42 minutes. If they said it was only half an hour, he would’ve gone right into his room and jumped into the tub, then he should’ve made weight. So, he got a raw deal on that one.”

What do you think about Lambert saying he thinks Romero’s time was cut so the commissioner could attend the Cubs game?

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Dana White: Usman Is Getting Title Shot With or Without Tyron Woodley

There has been a major development in the drama at 170, with the president himself making it crystal clear who will be getting the next title shot at Tyron Woodley. After Colby Covington defeated Rafael dos Anjos for the interim welterweight championsh…

There has been a major development in the drama at 170, with the president himself making it crystal clear who will be getting the next title shot at Tyron Woodley. After Colby Covington defeated Rafael dos Anjos for the interim welterweight championship at UFC 225, the countdown began for Covington to finally be granted the […]

The post Dana White: Usman Is Getting Title Shot With or Without Tyron Woodley appeared first on MMA News.

Gegard Mousasi Reveals Plan To Beat Robert Whittaker

Despite them being in two different promotions, Mousasi is keeping a close eye on Whittaker.

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Gegard Mousasi sounds off on how fighters can beat UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker – even if they don’t fight in the same promotion.

Different Places

Whittaker won the interim title when he beat Yoel Romero back at UFC 213 in July of 2017 by unanimous decision. Whittaker became the official champion in late 2017.

The UFC has already announced that once Whittaker is healthy enough to fight again, he will make his next title defense against top contender Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker will also coach The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 28 opposite of Gastelum prior to them fighting for the strap.

The Bellator middleweight champion is slated to fight welterweight champion Rory MacDonald at the Bellator 206 event.

Mousasi Sounds Off

Although they are not in the same promotion obviously, that hasn’t stopped Mousasi from keeping a close eye on the UFC middleweight champion.

He talked about it during a recent conference call. Mousasi noted that Whittaker has an exceptional level of striking ability. He believes that in order to beat him, his opponent needs some good skills in the stand-up area.

“It’s all about matchups,” Mousasi said (transcript courtesy of MMAJunkie). “To fight Whittaker, I think a guy with good skills in standup can defeat him. I don’t care about being the best or not,” Mousasi said. “But on the 29th, I have to be the best.”

Bellator 206 will go down this weekend (Saturday, September 29, 2018). The card will air live from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The preliminary card will air online at 7:00 pm EST while the main card will air on DAZN and Paramount Network at 9:00 PM EST.

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Quote: Conor McGregor Is ‘Doing Cocaine’ Instead Of Promoting UFC 229

Very little has been heard from Conor McGregor heading into October 6’s UFC 229 from Las Vegas. Apparently, that’s okay, however, as another outspoken UFC trash talker is ready to get the smack talk rolling for him. McGregor has eschewed appearing in the limelight in order to focus on training for a fight many think will be […]

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Very little has been heard from Conor McGregor heading into October 6’s UFC 229 from Las Vegas.

Apparently, that’s okay, however, as another outspoken UFC trash talker is ready to get the smack talk rolling for him.

McGregor has eschewed appearing in the limelight in order to focus on training for a fight many think will be his toughest ever. The UFC is reportedly a bit miffed with McGregor’s lack of promotion for the fight.

One prominent UFC name believes there is another reason for his media silence.

“Chaos” Sounds Off Again

Former UFC interim champion Colby Covington recently told BJ Penn Radio (via MMA Mania) that McGregor has gone soft and is doing cocaine and partying with hookers instead of training:

“He’s doing his little cocaine, and he’s partying a lot with his hookers. He’s getting a little soft, he’s a little, he’s a coked-up little leprechaun who’s getting a little soft, so I completely understand why he doesn’t want to do promotion.”

Covington defeated former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision at June’s UFC 225. He was offered a fight against champion Tyron Woodley. Covington cited a recent sinus surgery as the reason he couldn’t participate in the biggest fight of his career so far.

Woodley went on to dominate Darren Till at September 8’s UFC 228. The consensus is that he and Covington will eventually face off for the title soon. McGregor has his hands full with Nurmagomedov, meanwhile. The Irish superstar will finally appear opposite his Dagestani rival at a press conference this Thursday.

The MMA world expects the trash talk to get rolling at that date and time. The fight has received precious little mainstream promotion despite its billing as the biggest UFC match of all-time. McGregor has been out of action since defeating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title in late 2016.

The 155-pound title was stripped from McGregor due to inactivity. McGregor will attempt to win back the belt he never officially lost against ‘The Eagle.’

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Manager Shoots Down Reports Of RDA vs. Usman

A high-profile welterweight match reportedly isn’t happening – yet. Word broke today (Wed., September 12, 2018) from Combate that recent interim title challenger Rafael dos Anjos would take on surging contender Kamaru Usman at November 30’s The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 28 Finale from the Pearl Theatre at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The […]

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A high-profile welterweight match reportedly isn’t happening – yet.

Word broke today (Wed., September 12, 2018) from Combate that recent interim title challenger Rafael dos Anjos would take on surging contender Kamaru Usman at November 30’s The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 28 Finale from the Pearl Theatre at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The bout was supposed to headline the event, however, Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz replied on Twitter that he heard no word of the fight:

Former lightweight champ dos Anjos was last seen losing an interim title bout to Colby Covington in the co-main event of June’s UFC 225. He had previously been on quite the tear since moving up to welterweight, winning three straights bouts at 170 pounds.

Meanwhile, the dominant Usman was last seen dominating former title contender Demian Maia in a lackluster unanimous decision win in Santiago, Chile, this May. The 17-1 contender has won all eight of his UFC match-ups since debuting as the TUF 21 champion in 2015.

We’ll keep you updated on this potential match-up.

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Colby Covington Predicts Dismal PPV Buy Rate For UFC 228

Colby Covington predicts UFC 228 buy rate.

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Interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington has predicted the buy rate for UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till- it’s dismal.

It’s not surprising to see the brash Covington take a shot at the upcoming UFC 228 card. After all, “Chaos” himself believes he holds the “real” welterweight strap. And that the title Tyron Woodley and Darren Till will fight for next weekend (Sept. 8, 2018) is nothing more than a glorified paperweight.

Covington has repeatedly stated that the fans have no interest in watching Woodley fight. The confident wrestler believes that if he was fighting at UFC 228 that the buy rate would far exceed what is expected next weekend.

“It’s short-sighted. That fight’s not going to do 100,000 buys. Mark my words. If it does 100,000 buys, it will barely be over that,” Covington told FloCombat. “If they would have waited a couple of months, it’s going to do a minimum of 500,000 buys.”

Covington may have a slightly inflated self-worth. After all, his co-main event fight at UFC 225 helped produce a PPV buy rate of 250,000 buys. That’s half of Covington’s claim of 500,000 for a potential fight between Woodley and himself.

“Chaos” also believes the UFC purposely paired Woodly and Till on a card with a solid co-main event, as to help drive PPV numbers.

“I don’t know why they wanted to rush it, but unfortunately they needed a main event for that Dallas card ‘cause that women’s fight, no one knows who they are,” Covington said. “No one even knows they’re fighting. I don’t even know what the girls’ names are and I don’t care about that fight. So they needed a main event and everybody else is sucking on their thumbs and not ready to make the UFC and MMA great again.”

”They had to put Tyron out there since he’s been faking injuries and hanging out in Hollywood like a little liberal soy boy.”

The usually outspoken Covington was reluctant to predict a winner in the Woodley-Till fight. However, he was more than happy to talk about who was going to lose. The fans.

“I don’t know who’s going to win but I do know who’s going to lose, and that’s the fans,” Covington said. “They’re really going to lose with that fight. I hope Tyrone [sic] Woodley doesn’t f*ck this up. That’s the money fight. We’ve got a real beef. We used to train at American Top Team and I whooped his *** and he hasn’t been back since ‘cause he knows I’ll whoop his *** again.”

”I hope he doesn’t f*ck this up and f*ck up this money fight but I’ll tell you who loses in all of this and that’s the fans.”

 

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