Biography(references)Yoel Romero Palacio is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. As a freestyle wrestler, Romero competed at 85 kilograms, and he was the '99 World Champion , the '00 Olympic Silver medalist, a three-time World Cup winner , the '03 Pan American Games Gold medalist and a five-time Pan American Champion.
Combat ApproachIn spite of his amateur wrestling pedigree, Romero rarely uses his wrestling offensively inside the Octagon. Instead, Romero's boxing is typically considered his best skill, with the majority of his victories coming by way of knockout or technical knockout via punches. Many pundits cite Romero's pull-back left-handed counter as his most dangerous strike.
Fighter Trivia(references)His younger brother, Yoan Pablo Hernández, was the IBF Cruiserweight Champion in professional boxing. In a controversial post-fight interview after his victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC Fight Night 70, it was assumed by many that Romero was expressing disagreement with the Obergefell v. Hodges supreme court ruling. However, during the post fight press conference and subsequent interviews the following day, Romero denied referring to gay marriage and apologized for his comments while maintaining that they were misunderstood.
Awards & Accolades
UFC: Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Clifford Starks
UFC: Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Lyoto Machida and Chris Weidman
UFC: Fight of the Night (Five times) vs. Derek Brunson, Tim Kennedy, Robert Whittaker (x2), and Paulo Costa
MMA DNA.nl: 2018 Fight of the Year.
MMAJunkie.com: 2019 August Fight of the Month vs. Paulo Costa
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