Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker | UFC Betting Sites

Yoel Romero Admits Fighting Bisping Would ‘Taste Better’

No. 1-ranked UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero is undoubtedly deserving of a title shot. The former Olympian has won an incredible eight straight, with six of those victories coming by way of stoppage. After finishing ex-champion Chris Weidman last November at UFC 205 in New York City, Romero was expected to be the next challenger […]

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Instead, the UFC announced that Bisping would next take on returning former welterweight king Georges St. Pierre. That bout has yet to receive a date, however, after it was made clear that Bisping was still suffering from a knee injury and St. Pierre wouldn’t be ready to compete until the fall.

With the top of the division at a dead lock, the UFC was forced to keep things moving. In order to do so, the promotion booked Romero in an interim title bout with red hot No. 3-ranked Robert Whittaker at July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Recently speaking on the fight, Romero said that he’s ‘okay’ with the situation, although he admits it would’ve been ‘a bit better’ had he been matched against Bisping:

“No, I take the interim belt, fight for the interim belt and then I wait for Mr. Bisping.” said Romero during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. “I am not dissatisfied, I am okay. You have to have in your head that you have to go step-by-step, and my goal right now is to fight for the title and that’s what I am going for. I am going to get that title.”

“It’s not one specific person. Now, the food would’ve probably tasted a bit better had it been against Bisping, and everybody knows why.”

Romero and Bisping have gone back-and-forth quite a bit in the media over the last few months and a fight between the two would likely be quite intriguing. “The Solider of God”, however, will first have to get through “The Reaper” and he knows that’s no easy task:

“He’s a great athlete, he’s doing everything that he needs to do to become a greater fighter and the worst mistake any fighter can make in front of Whittaker, is to underestimate him. He is a great athlete.”

Whittaker is riding an impressive seven fight win streak of his own and is coming off of a vicious TKO victory over former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC on FOX 24 this past April. Prior to that, he had scored victories over the likes of Mike Rhodes, Clint Hester, Brad Tavares, Uriah Hall, Rafael Natal and Derek Brunson, with three of those victories coming by way of stoppage.

The 26-year-old Australia-based contenter certainly possesses an impressive resume, but he may be taking on the stiffest test of his career when he meets “The Solider of God” during International Fight Week.

Who do you expect to come out on top when Romero and Whittaker do battle in July?

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Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker Interim Title Bout Set For UFC 213

UFC 213, which is set to take place during International Fight Week on July 8, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada, was originally scheduled to be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Cody Garbrandt and ex-titleholder TJ Dillashaw. A women’s bantamweight title scrap between 135-pound queen Amanda Nunes and surging contender Valentina Shevchenko is […]

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Recently, however, it had been reported that “No Love” was dealing with back issues, putting his title fight with Dillashaw in serious jeopardy. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who appeared on an edition of SportsCenter earlier tonight (May 23, 2017), Garbrandt has officially been removed from the card, with his fight with Dillashaw being scrapped.

The UFC clearly needed to fill a void on what is typically a marquee pay-per-view for the promotion and it did so in the form of an interim middleweight title fight, as top contenders Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will face off in the card’s co-main event, also per Okamoto.

Reigning middleweight champion Michael Bisping hasn’t defended his title since scoring a unanimous decision victory over Dan Henderson last October at UFC 204 in Manchester, England. Earlier this year, UFC President Dana White had announced that Bisping would next defend his title against returning former longtime welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, but that bout has since fallen through according to White. Either way, Bisping, who’s currently dealing with a knee injury, won’t be ready to compete until the fall, leaving the promotion with no choice, but to move forward with the division.

Romero, the rightful No. 1-contender, has won an incredible eight straight fights, with six of those victories coming by way of stoppage. “The Solider of God” holds notable victories over Tim Kennedy, Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in addition to former champion Chris Weidman, who Romero finished with a vicious flying knee at UFC 205 last November in New York City.

Whittaker, on the other hand, currently sits at No. 3 in the divisional rankings and is riding a seven fight win streak of his own that includes four stoppage victories. The 26-year-old Australian-based contender dubbed “The Reaper” is coming off of back-to-back finishes over Derekn Brunson and Souza.

Many UFC middleweight contenders, most notably former champion Luke Rockhold, who hasn’t competed since shockingly being knocked out by Bisping at UFC 199 last June, have voiced their displeasure with the state of the division. Many have also criticized Bisping for the caliber of opponents he has elected to take on in his title reign thus far. The creation of an interim title, however, should appear as a step in the right direction and it should provide contenders with a sense of clarity in regards to where the division is headed.

What do you make of the UFC’s decision to book Romero against Whittaker?

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Report: UFC Considering Romero vs. Whittaker Interim Title Bout

The UFC’s middleweight division is a disaster. Since winning the title with a shocking knockout victory over Luke Rockhold last June at UFC 199 in California, current champion Michael Bisping has only defended his strap once, scoring a decision victory over Dan Henderson in a highly criticized booking last October at UFC 204 in his […]

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The UFC’s middleweight division is a disaster.

Since winning the title with a shocking knockout victory over Luke Rockhold last June at UFC 199 in California, current champion Michael Bisping has only defended his strap once, scoring a decision victory over Dan Henderson in a highly criticized booking last October at UFC 204 in his hometown of Manchester, England.

Earlier this year, UFC President Dana White announced that instead of taking on top contender Yoel Romero, Bisping would next defend his title against returning former welterweight king Georges St. Pierre. St. Pierre hasn’t competed since scoring a controversial decision victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in 2013 and he has never competed at middleweight, although he remains a well-known name in the sport of mixed martial arts.

Recently, however, “Rush” said he wouldn’t be available to fight until next fall, leading White to call off the bout. Bisping then made things even more difficult, revealing that he was still suffering from a knee injury that would keep him on the sidelines for the coming months as well.

Because of these issues, White admitted that the promotion is considering booking an interim title bout between Romero and No. 3-ranked Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker:

“We’re trying to put together that Bisping-Romero fight,” White told ESPN.com. “If [Bisping] can’t fight this summer, we’ll probably create an interim title between Romero and Robert Whittaker.”

It’s currently unclear when a potential interim title fight would take place.

Romero is riding an incredible eight fight win streak, with six of those victories coming by way of stoppage. “The Solider of God” holds notable victories over Tim Kennedy, Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and he’s coming off of a vicious flying knee stoppage of former champion Chris Weidman.

The 26-year-old Whittaker, on the other hand, is riding a seven fight win streak of his own, with four of those victories coming by way of stoppage. “The Reaper” most recently scored an upset victory over “Jacare” at UFC on FOX 24 in Kansas City this past April.

Booking an interim title fight between these two contenders certainly makes quite a bit of sense, especially if Bisping is going to be out of action for the foreseeable future. It will also likely invigorate the disgruntled middleweight division, as numerous contenders have voiced their displeasure with not only the state of the division, but the UFC’s recent matchmaking as well.

As far as St. Pierre goes, his future is a bit a cloudy at the moment. White, however, said that the Canadian star will likely compete for the welterweight title once he makes his long awaited return to the Octagon:

“[St-Pierre] says he will fight whoever the 170-pound champion is when he comes back,” White said.

Do you still expect a bout between Bisping and St. Pierre to take place and are you content with the UFC making an interim 185-pound title?

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