Tag: Yoel Romero

Yoel Romero Was In Talks To Fight Jake Paul Before Signing For Bellator

Yoel RomeroYoel Romero has revealed that he was in serious talks for a fight with Jake Paul before the YouTuber backed out and he signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Romero claimed that he was offered a fight with Paul before the internet celebrity opted to face Ben […]

Yoel Romero

Yoel Romero has revealed that he was in serious talks for a fight with Jake Paul before the YouTuber backed out and he signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator.

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Romero claimed that he was offered a fight with Paul before the internet celebrity opted to face Ben Askren instead.

“What happened was, initially Jake Paul wanted to do a fight with Yoel, but then when Yoel wanted to do it, the Paul team canceled the fight,” Romero’s translator said.

“Initially they wanted to do the fight with Yoel. That was when he was just getting out of the UFC, he had not signed with Bellator yet, and they said eventually no they don’t want Yoel… They decided to go with Ben Askren.” Romero’s translator explained to Helwani.

Romero believes the fact Paul chose to fight Askren instead of him proves the 24-year-old is not interested in facing true tests inside the squared circle.

“They don’t want to face a real fighter,” Romero said via his translator. “(The Paul brothers) are just trying to make it a show and they don’t want to ruin their show. They’re finding the easy fights. Even though (Logan) fought Mayweather, but the thing is, there’s a huge weight difference.” (Transcribed by MMA News)

The Cuban fighter was supposed to square off against Anthony Johnson in his Bellator debut earlier this year before a failed medical scuppered those plans. Romero will finally make his promotional bow when he takes on the former light-heavyweight champion, Phil Davis, at Bellator 266 on September 18.

Do you think Jake Paul was smart to avoid fighting Yoel Romero?

Yoel Romero Claims He Was In Serious Negotiations For Jake Paul Fight

According to former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero, he was in line to fight Jake Paul before Ben Askren but implies the YouTuber turned boxer canceled the potential showdown. Widespread shock ran through the MMA community when many were surprised to find out that “The Soldier Of God” was released from the UFC. Even though […]

Continue Reading Yoel Romero Claims He Was In Serious Negotiations For Jake Paul Fight at MMA News.

According to former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero, he was in line to fight Jake Paul before Ben Askren but implies the YouTuber turned boxer canceled the potential showdown.

Widespread shock ran through the MMA community when many were surprised to find out that “The Soldier Of God” was released from the UFC. Even though the chiseled 44-year old was on a losing streak, many claim it was only due to him fighting the very best in the world. Nevertheless, Romero moved on and joined Bellator. While the Brazilian was set for a fiery debut against fellow knockout artist Anthony Johnson, tragedy struck and an injury forced Romero out of the highly anticipated debut.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, it was revealed by Romero that he was offered to fight Jake Paul prior to Ben Askren signing the dotted line but the plans caught a snag.

“What happened was, initially Jake Paul wanted to do a fight with Yoel, but then when Yoel wanted to do it, the Paul team canceled the fight,” Romero’s translator said.

“Initially they wanted to do the fight with Yoel. That was when he was just getting out of the UFC, he had not signed with Bellator yet, and they said eventually no they don’t want Yoel… They decided to go with Ben Askren.” Romero’s translator explained to Helwani.

According to Romero and his translator, the fight with Paul was somewhat close to materializing. Even so, the Paul team decided to move on from “The Soldier Of God” and target Askren instead. The Brazilian known for his explosive striking believes the Paul brothers have very little desire to actually get into the ring with a seasoned fighter.

“They don’t want to face a real fighter. (The Paul brothers) are just trying to make it a show and they don’t want to ruin their show. They’re finding the easy fights. Even though (Logan) fought Mayweather, but the thing is, there’s a huge weight difference,” Romero said, through his translator.

Romero is adamant that the Paul brothers are more concerned with the brilliance of a show than the actual fight. In the midst of all the negotiating, Romero was just departing from the UFC where he fought his contract out after spending seven years with the company.

Yoel Romero will finally make his explosive Bellator debut in the main event this Saturday on Sept. 18 at Bellator 266. The 44-year old light heavyweight will be matched with a fellow ex-UFC fighter in Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis.

Who do you see winning in a fight between Yoel Romero and Jake Paul?

Continue Reading Yoel Romero Claims He Was In Serious Negotiations For Jake Paul Fight at MMA News.

Bellator 266 Results/Main Event Highlights: Davis Outworks Romero

Bellator 266 aired tonight, Saturday, September 18 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Usually, when Bellator shifts from Friday to a Saturday card, it’s for a good reason. This time, it was for the light-heavyweight main event featuring the debut of Yoel Romero in Bellator MMA. Romero looked to break into the light-heavyweight […]

Continue Reading Bellator 266 Results/Main Event Highlights: Davis Outworks Romero at MMA News.

Bellator 266 aired tonight, Saturday, September 18 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Usually, when Bellator shifts from Friday to a Saturday card, it’s for a good reason. This time, it was for the light-heavyweight main event featuring the debut of Yoel Romero in Bellator MMA. Romero looked to break into the light-heavyweight rankings against former Bellator champion and #3-ranked Phil Davis.

Romero was scheduled to be in the light-heavyweight Grand Prix against Anthony “Rumble” Johnson but had to be removed from the tournament. It was a highly anticipated match that fans were really looking forward to, but better late than never. His opponent, Davis, was in the same tournament and lost a decision to current light-heavyweight champion, Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 257.

Check out the highlights from the main event below!

Phil Davis def. Yoel Romero via Split Decision

Bellator 266 Quick Results

BELLATOR MMA 266: Davis vs. Romero Main Card: Saturday, September 18 – live on SHOWTIME 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT

Phil Davis def. Yoel Romero via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-26)

Neiman Gracie def. Mark Lemminger via TKO (punches) – R1, 1:27

DeAnna Bennett def. Alejandra Lara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26×2)

Saul Rogers def. Georgi Karakhanyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26×2)

Ben Parrish def. Christian Edwards via knockout (punches) – R1, 0:38

Preliminary Card: BELLATOR MMA YouTube Channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube Channel | Pluto TV 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT

Alex Polizzi def. Grant Neal via split decision (28-29, 29-28×2)

Anthony Adams def. Khalid Murtazaliev via unanimous decision (29-28×3)

Bobby Seronio III def. Socrates Hernandez via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-26×2)

Abraham Vaesauvia def. Albert Gonzales via knockout (punches) – R1, 2:17

Shane Keefe def. Rhalan Gracie via unanimous decision (29-28×3)

Edwin De Los Santos def. Jon Adams via TKO (strikes) – R1, 3:29

Jesse Delgado def. Joshua Dillon via unanimous decision (30-27×3)

Continue Reading Bellator 266 Results/Main Event Highlights: Davis Outworks Romero at MMA News.

EXCLUSIVE | Phil Davis Expects Early Finish Over Yoel Romero At Bellator 266

Phil DavisBellator‘s light heavyweight contender Phil Davis was excited when he found out that former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero signed with Bellator, and he’ll get the chance to compete against him in the main event of Bellator 266. Davis enters Bellator 266 as the third-ranked contender in the Bellator light heavyweight division, after being ousted […]

Phil Davis

Bellator‘s light heavyweight contender Phil Davis was excited when he found out that former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero signed with Bellator, and he’ll get the chance to compete against him in the main event of Bellator 266.

Davis enters Bellator 266 as the third-ranked contender in the Bellator light heavyweight division, after being ousted from the ongoing Grand Prix against Vadim Nemkov. Now, he’ll have the chance to get right back in the title conversation and make a statement against the Bellator-debuting Romero.

Davis, a former UFC standout who has really made a name for himself during his time competing in Bellator, has developed from a grappling specialist to a more well-rounded mixed martial artist. Whenever he’s ready to call it a career, he has developed several businesses and is an established real estate agent to help his eventual transition away from the sport.

Despite suffering an early defeat in the light heavyweight grand prix, Davis certainly doesn’t lack confidence ahead of his big fight with the always-dangerous Romero.

“I don’t think this fight is going to go three rounds,” Davis told LowKickMMA. “Expect fireworks and look for this to be a one-round fight. It doesn’t have the making of a long war. There are challenges in facing him, but I’m more focused on the different ways that I can open up and I like the fact that he can have two different styles.”

Romero made the move to the UFC after falling to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, in an unexpectedly dull bout at UFC 248. He has lost four of his last five fights overall including two bouts against former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

Davis still feels he can perform against some of the best light heavyweights in Bellator and looks to put on a signature performance against Romero at Bellator 266. A win could mean another chance at the Bellator light heavyweight throne.

What is your prediction for Phil Davis vs. Yoel Romero?

Jorge Masvidal & Yoel Romero Wanted To Fly To Cleveland After Momma Woodley Incident

Jorge MasvidalJorge Masvidal and Yoel Romero were apparently ready to fly into Cleveland, Ohio, after seeing Jake Paul and his team disrespecting Tyron Woodley’s mother. On Thursday, at the pre-fight press conference for Paul vs. Woodley, things got ugly when a scuffle broke out between both teams. Some of Paul’s team are believed to have made […]

Jorge Masvidal

Jorge Masvidal and Yoel Romero were apparently ready to fly into Cleveland, Ohio, after seeing Jake Paul and his team disrespecting Tyron Woodley’s mother.

On Thursday, at the pre-fight press conference for Paul vs. Woodley, things got ugly when a scuffle broke out between both teams. Some of Paul’s team are believed to have made disrespectful comments towards Woodley’s mother, Deborah, prompting the former UFC welterweight champion’s sister to confront them. A brawl almost broke out as Woodley looked to defend his family, lots of pushing took place and lots of unpleasant words were exchanged before the fracas came to an end.

During an interview with The Mac Life, Woodley’s manager, Malki Kawa, revealed that several of the other fighters on his roster were ready to fly in to defend momma Woodley’s honor.

“Listen, Andre Arlovski, Yoel Romero, half my roster was ready to fly in here after that,” Kawa said. “I was like, ‘you guys should stay home, it’s not necessary.’ But Masvidal was ready, Masvidal was coming because that’s their teammate, that’s their boy. They’ve trained together, they’ve done a lot of things together, a lot of time spent together. I represent both of them, so, we are like a little family ourselves too. So, for anyone to try anybody’s mom, I think other people look and say ‘if that was my mom, what would I want everybody else to do?’ Right? So, I appreciated every single one of them. I got text messages and calls from everybody ready to fly in and just be there for momma Woodley and stuff. But I’m like, ‘bro you guys don’t understand.

“Let me tell you something, momma Woodley is the real G in all of this,” Kawa added. “I don’t think you understand momma Woodley had to defuse the situation. She was not rattled at all. I’m telling you. If momma Woodley snaps her fingers bro, I’m telling you, it’s a problem. So, let’s leave it alone. At the end of the day, it’s just a fight. It is what it is. That moment in time escalated, we deescalated it. It is what it is right now. We just wanna get to the fight, get this fight over, and then hopefully get to another one.”

Do you think Jorge Masvidal and Yoel Romero should’ve flown in to be at the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley fight week?

Yoel Romero Booked for Bellator Debut against Phil Davis at Bellator 266

Yoel Romero Phil DavisFormer UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero is finally getting a shot in the Bellator cage, booked to face Phil Davis at Bellator 266, as first reported by MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. Romero was medically cleared yesterday by Bellator and president Scott Coker and the promotion wasted no time in getting him a fight date and […]

Yoel Romero Phil Davis

Former UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero is finally getting a shot in the Bellator cage, booked to face Phil Davis at Bellator 266, as first reported by MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.

Romero was medically cleared yesterday by Bellator and president Scott Coker and the promotion wasted no time in getting him a fight date and an opponent. Romero was originally slated to compete against Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix before he had to pull out due to health concerns.

The Romero vs. Davis matchup features a pair of former UFC standouts, with Romero having recently fought for the title against Israel Adesanya in his last appearance and Davis losing a unanimous decision to light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 257. Before the loss to Nemkov, Davis had won three straight fights and looks to get back on track against Bellator newcomer Romero.

Romero and Davis will be the main event at Bellator 266 as the top light heavyweight contenders compete in the grand prix semifinals. Johnson will face Nemkov, while former UFC light heavyweight Corey Anderson will face heavyweight champion, Ryan Bader. The winner of Romero vs. Davis has the opportunity to move closer to a No. 1 contender spot against the winner of the grand prix.

The bout also features a battle of two elite wrestlers. Romero represented his native Cuba with a silver medal performance in the 2000 Summer Olympics in freestyle wrestling, while Davis has dominated on the ground since his days competing at Penn State on the NCAA level.

Romero is looking for his first win in MMA since knocking out Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 for the interim middleweight title. A win over a tough opponent like Davis would mark Romero’s arrival to Bellator in style, and prove that he still has what it takes to fight against the best of the best in the light heavyweight division.

What’s your early prediction for Yoel Romero vs. Phil Davis?