Yoel Romero

Yoel Romero

Romero in 2008 (Dagestan)
Born Yoel Romero Palacio
(1977-04-30) April 30, 1977
Pinar del Río, Cuba
Other names Soldier of God
Residence Miami, Florida, United States
Nationality Cuban[1]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Division Light heavyweight
Middleweight
Reach 73.5 in (187 cm)[3]
Style Wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Boxing, Sambo, Muay Thai
Stance Southpaw
Fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida, United States
Team American Top Team
Wrestling Olympic Freestyle Wrestling
Years active 2009–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 14
Wins 13
By knockout 11
By decision 2
Losses 1
By knockout 1
Notable relatives Yoan Pablo Hernández, brother[4]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban mixed martial artist (MMA) and former World Champion and Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling. He competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, ranked #1,[5] and formerly competed in the now-defunct Strikeforce organization.

Wrestling career

Romero competed in both the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics, representing his home nation of Cuba. He won the silver medal in the 2000 freestyle competition, losing to Adam Saitiev in the finals.[6] He finished in 4th place in 2004. While competing in freestyle wrestling, Romero has defeated 3 different Olympic gold medal winners, and 5 different world champions.[7] Among them were Americans Cael Sanderson and Les Gutches, both of whom Romero has multiple victories over.

He also represented Cuba at the senior level in the FILA Wrestling World Championships, which is held in non-Olympic years, from 1997–2005. At the 1999 World Wrestling Championships Romero became world champ by defeating the 1996 Olympic gold medalist, Khadzhimurad Magomedov of Russia. He controversially missed out on becoming world champ again in 2002. After landing a 3-point throw against Adam Saitiev to take a 3–2 lead, Romero was penalized a point for passivity with 20 seconds remaining. In overtime after a scramble saw Romero end on top, it was judged Saitiev had scored in the interim.

Romero medaled in 5 total world championships, only missing out with his 5th-place finish in 1997, and 6th-place finish in 2003 – a time where he was battling injuries. Other notable achievements include a gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games, a quadrennial competition held the year before the Olympics, as well as multiple medal-winning finishes at the FILA Wrestling World Cup. Romero competed sparingly after 2005 – he was suspended for all of 2006 by the Cuban Wrestling Federation for allegedly throwing his match against Mindorashvili at the 2005 World Championships. After winning the Grand Prix of Germany in the summer of 2007, he would not return to Cuba, instead staying in Germany.

Romero then joined the Ringer-Bundesliga, a professional wrestling league in Germany, where teams compete for team titles. Romero helped coach and train, as well as started for SV Johannis Nuremberg. Eventually he began to transition into MMA.

World championships/Olympics

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location Notes
Loss 34–11 Georgia (country) Revaz Mindorashvili 0–1, 1–1, 0–5 2005-09-26 2005 World Wrestling Championships Hungary Budapest, Hungary awarded silver medal
Win 34–10 Ukraine Taras Danko 3–1, 1–0 2005-09-26 2005 World Wrestling Championships Hungary Budapest, Hungary
Win 33–10 Belarus Soslan Gattsiev 1–0, 2–0 2005-09-26 2005 World Wrestling Championships Hungary Budapest, Hungary
Win 32–10 Poland Radosław Horbik 1–0, 2–0 2005-09-26 2005 World Wrestling Championships Hungary Budapest, Hungary
Win 31–10 Malta Abraham Vasallo 4–0, 3–0 2005-09-26 2005 World Wrestling Championships Hungary Budapest, Hungary
Loss 30–10 Russia Sazhid Sazhidov 3–5 2004-08-26 2004 Summer Olympics Greece Athens, Greece bronze medal match
Loss 30–9 United States Cael Sanderson 2–3 2004-08-26 2004 Summer Olympics Greece Athens, Greece
Win 30–8 Greece Lazaros Loizidis 3–1 2004-08-26 2004 Summer Olympics Greece Athens, Greece
Win 29–8 Germany Davyd Bichinashvili 3–0 2004-08-26 2004 Summer Olympics Greece Athens, Greece
Win 28–8 Guam Jeffrey Cobb Tech. Fall 2004-08-26 2004 Summer Olympics Greece Athens, Greece
Loss 27–8 Russia Sazhid Sazhidov 0–3 2003-09-12 2003 World Wrestling Championships United States New York, United States
Loss 27–7 Republic of Macedonia Mogamed Ibragimov 0–3 2003-09-12 2003 World Wrestling Championships United States New York, United States
Win 27–6 Switzerland Thomas Bucheli 9–0 2003-09-12 2003 World Wrestling Championships United States New York, United States
Win 26–6 Poland Marcin Jurecki 6–5 2003-09-12 2003 World Wrestling Championships United States New York, United States
Loss 25–6 Russia Adam Saitiev 3–4 2002-09-05 2002 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran awarded silver medal
Win 25–5 Iran Majid Khodaei 3–0 2002-09-05 2002 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran
Win 24–5 Georgia (country) Revaz Mindorashvili 3–2 2002-09-05 2002 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran
Win 23–5 Japan Katsutoshi Senba Fall 2002-09-05 2002 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran
Win 22–5 Hungary Gabor Kapuvari 4–0 2002-09-05 2002 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran
Win 21–5 Belarus Beibulat Musaev 3–0 2001-11-22 2001 World Wrestling Championships Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria wins bronze medal
Loss 20–5 Russia Khadzhimurad Magomedov 1–3 2001-11-22 2001 World Wrestling Championships Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria
Win 20–4 Germany Andre Backhaus 5–0 2001-11-22 2001 World Wrestling Championships Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria
Win 19–4 Poland Marcin Jurecki 4–1 2001-11-22 2001 World Wrestling Championships Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria
Win 18–4 Armenia Mahmed Aghaev 5–0 2001-11-22 2001 World Wrestling Championships Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria
Loss 17–4 Russia Adam Saitiev Fall 2000-09-28 2000 Summer Olympics Australia Sydney, Australia awarded silver medal
Win 17–3 Iran Amir Reza Khadem 3–0 2000-09-28 2000 Summer Olympics Australia Sydney, Australia
Win 16–3 Canada Justin Abdou 8–0 2000-09-28 2000 Summer Olympics Australia Sydney, Australia
Win 15–3 Latvia Igors Samušonoks 3–0 2000-09-28 2000 Summer Olympics Australia Sydney, Australia
Win 14–3 Kazakhstan Magomed Kurugliyev 4–0 2000-09-28 2000 Summer Olympics Australia Sydney, Australia
Win 13–3 Russia Khadzhimurad Magomedov 4–2 1999-10-07 1999 World Wrestling Championships Turkey Ankara, Turkey wins world championship
Win 12–3 Turkey Ali Oezen 3–2 1999-10-07 1999 World Wrestling Championships Turkey Ankara, Turkey
Win 11–3 Kazakhstan Magomed Kurugliyev 3–0 1999-10-07 1999 World Wrestling Championships Turkey Ankara, Turkey
Win 10–3 Azerbaijan Vitali Gizoev 7–0 1999-10-07 1999 World Wrestling Championships Turkey Ankara, Turkey
Win 9–3 Germany Andre Backhaus 8–4 1999-10-07 1999 World Wrestling Championships Turkey Ankara, Turkey
Win 8–3 Iran Abbas Majidi 4–0 1999-10-07 1999 World Wrestling Championships Turkey Ankara, Turkey
Win 7–3 Russia Khadzhimurad Magomedov 3–2 1998-09-07 1998 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran wins bronze medal
Win 6–3 Poland Michal Stanislawski 5–1 1998-09-07 1998 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran
Loss 5–3 Iran Alireza Heidari 1–2 1998-09-07 1998 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran
Win 5–2 Hungary Gabor Kapuvari 5–0 1998-09-07 1998 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran
Win 4–2 Bulgaria Plamen Paskalev 5–0 1998-09-07 1998 World Wrestling Championships Iran Tehran, Iran
Win 3–2 Azerbaijan Mogamed Ibragimov Inj. Def. 1997-08-29 1997 World Wrestling Championships Russia Krasnojarsk, Russia
Loss 2–2 Uzbekistan Soslan Fraev 1–3 1997-08-29 1997 World Wrestling Championships Russia Krasnojarsk, Russia
Loss 2–1 Ukraine Eldar Assanov 1–3 1997-08-29 1997 World Wrestling Championships Russia Krasnojarsk, Russia
Win 2–0 Latvia Igors Samušonoks 3–1 1997-08-29 1997 World Wrestling Championships Russia Krasnojarsk, Russia
Win 1–0 Republic of Macedonia Gari Modosyan 4–0 1997-08-29 1997 World Wrestling Championships Russia Krasnojarsk, Russia

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After defecting in 2007 to Germany,[8] Romero made his professional mixed martial arts debut in December 2009.

In the time of 2008–2011 Romero had been trained by Sergej Kuftin (combat sambo & MMA coach) and Zike Simic (kickboxing coach), both – from Peter Althof's "Martial Arts Gym Nuremberg". Over the next 3 years, he amassed an undefeated record of 5–0 in various promotions throughout Germany and Poland.

He won his debut via TKO against Sascha Weinpolter. In his second bout he scored a 62-second finish via TKO against Ricky Pulu. He then took on Polish standout Michał Fijałka in his third bout.[9] After a dominating performance, Yoel won in the third round via TKO, which was at first ruled a controversial disqualification, due to a knee on the ground thrown by Romero. In 2011, he won his next three fights via TKO in the first round.

Strikeforce

Romero signed with Strikeforce in July 2011 and made his promotional debut against Rafael Cavalcante on September 10, 2011 at Strikeforce 36.[10] He lost the fight via KO in the second round. A neck injury kept him out of action until 2013.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Romero made his UFC and middleweight debut against Clifford Starks on April 20, 2013, at UFC on Fox 7.[11] He won the fight via KO in the first round. The win also earned him Knockout of the Night honors.[12]

Romero was expected to face Derek Brunson on August 31, 2013, at UFC 164.[13] However, Brunson suffered an injury and pulled out of the bout. Promotional newcomer Brian Houston was briefly linked as a replacement, however Houston was not medically cleared to compete at the event and the bout was cancelled.[14]

In his second UFC bout, Romero faced Ronny Markes on November 6, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 31.[15] He won the fight via knockout in the third round.

For his third fight, Romero was again set to face Derek Brunson on January 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 35.[16] After trailing for two rounds, Romero won the fight in the third via TKO due to punches that dropped Brunson and subsequent elbows to the body. Both fighters earned a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus award.[17]

In his fourth fight, Romero faced Brad Tavares at UFC on Fox 11.[18] He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Romero faced Tim Kennedy on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178.[19] He won the fight via TKO in the third round, giving Kennedy his first stoppage loss in thirteen years. This fight generated much controversy. Romero was hurt at the end of round 2, and received extra time to recover between rounds because Romero's cornermen failed to leave the Octagon on time. The win earned Romero his second Fight of the Night bonus award.[20]

Romero was expected to face Ronaldo Souza on February 28, 2015, at UFC 184.[21] However, Souza pulled out of the fight on January 15, 2015, due to pneumonia. The bout will be left intact and moved to a later date.[22]

The bout with Souza was originally rescheduled for April 18, 2015, at UFC on Fox 15. However, Romero was forced out of the fight by a ligament and meniscus tear in his knee. He was replaced by Chris Camozzi.[23]

Romero faced Lyoto Machida on June 27, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 70.[24] He knocked out Machida at 1:38 of the third round with a series of elbows from top position.[25] Romero was awarded a "Performance of the Night" bonus.[26]

The bout with Ronaldo Souza was scheduled for a third time, eventually taking place on December 12, 2015, at UFC 194.[27] Romero won the fight via split decision.[28] 2 of 17 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Romero.[29]

On January 13, Romero was informed of a potential doping violation stemming from an out of competition test conducted by USADA.[30] On February 8, Romero and his manager explained that he took a supplement after his fight and that supplement turned out to be contaminated. His team and USADA both sent out the supplement for testing and it came back that it contained a banned substance. That substance was not listed on the label, his manager said. They did not want to reveal the name of the supplement or the substance, because USADA was investigating the issue.[31] On March 23, it was announced that Romero would appeal his suspension. His team and USADA discussed a deal for a nine-month suspension for the fighter, but Romero preferred to go to arbitration. The typical USADA anti-doping violation suspension is two years.[32] Eventually on April 4, both parts reached an agreement for a six-month suspension. USADA revealed that Romero tested positive for ibutamoren, a growth hormone release stimulator. An unopened version of the supplement was independently tested and the banned substance did indeed come up, even though it was not listed on the label. Romero announced that he'll pursue legal action against the supplement company within the next few weeks. The result of the Souza fight was not overturned as it was an out of competition test that occurred after the fight – Romero passed both his pre-fight and fight night tests for the Souza fight.[33][34]

Romero faced former middleweight champion Chris Weidman on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205.[35] He won the fight via knockout in the third round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.[36][37]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 13–1 Chris Weidman KO (flying knee and punches) UFC 205 November 12, 2016 3 0:24 New York City, New York, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 12–1 Ronaldo Souza Decision (split) UFC 194 December 12, 2015 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 11–1 Lyoto Machida KO (elbows) UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero June 27, 2015 3 1:38 Hollywood, Florida, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 10–1 Tim Kennedy TKO (punches) UFC 178 September 27, 2014 3 0:58 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 9–1 Brad Tavares Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne April 19, 2014 3 5:00 Orlando, Florida, United States
Win 8–1 Derek Brunson TKO (punches and elbows) UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Philippou January 15, 2014 3 3:23 Duluth, Georgia, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 7–1 Ronny Markes KO (punches) UFC: Fight for the Troops 3 November 6, 2013 3 1:39 Fort Campbell, Kentucky, United States
Win 6–1 Clifford Starks KO (flying knee and punches) UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez April 20, 2013 1 1:32 San Jose, California, United States Middleweight debut. Knockout of the Night.
Loss 5–1 Rafael Cavalcante KO (punches and knee) Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov September 10, 2011 2 4:51 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win 5–0 Laszlo Eck KO (punch) Fight of the Night 2011 May 27, 2011 1 0:33 Greding, Germany
Win 4–0 Nikita Petrovs TKO (retirement) SFC 3: MMA Fight Night March 5, 2011 1 2:58 Giessen, Germany
Win 3–0 Michał Fijałka TKO (retirement) IFF: The Eternal Struggle October 8, 2010 3 4:05 Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland
Win 2–0 Ricky Pulu TKO (punches) Fight of the Night 2010 March 3, 2010 1 1:02 Greding, Germany
Win 1–0 Sascha Weinpolter TKO (punches) Fight of the Night 2009 December 20, 2009 1 0:48 Nuremberg, Germany

Personal life

Romero describes himself as "a man of God" whose hero is Jesus Christ.[38][39][40] His younger brother, Yoan Pablo Hernández, is a Cruiserweight Champion in professional boxing.[41]

In a controversial post-fight interview after his victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC Fight Night 70, Romero seemed to express 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. Many thought Romero said "No for gay Jesus" while he actually said "No forget Jesus" as he is not fluent in English.[42]

See also

References

  1. "Light-heavyweight prospect Yoel Romero inks new Strikeforce deal". MMAjunkie.
  2. http://www.ufc.com/fighter/Yoel-Romero?id=
  3. "Fight Card – UFC Fight Night Werdum vs. Browne". UFC.com. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  4. Chiappetta, Mike (2011-07-27). "Former Olympian Yoel Romero signs with Strikeforce, will face Feijão in debut". MMAfighting.com. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  5. UFC Rankings
  6. Sports References. Sports-reference.com. Retrieved on 2016-11-12.
  7. "UFC Fight Night 35 Factgrinder: The Wrestling Career of Yoel Romero". bloodyelbow.com. January 15, 2014.
  8. "Die Wochen der Wahrheit – Doppelkampftag steht an" (in German). www.ringen.de. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  9. "Yoel Romero Palacio vs. Michał Fijałka". groundandpound.de. October 5, 2010. (in German)
  10. "Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante vs. Yoel Romero slotted for September 10 Strikeforce event". mmajunkie.com. 2011-07-21.
  11. "Yoel Romero vs Clifford Starks set for UFC on FOX 7". bloodyelbow.com. January 23, 2013.
  12. "UFC on FOX 7 bonuses: Brown, Mein, Romero, Thomson earn $50,000". MMAjunkie.com. 2013-04-20. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
  13. "UFC 164 Gains Derek Brunson vs. Yoel Romero". mmaweekly.com. 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  14. "UFC 164 loses Yoel Romero vs. Brian Houston, card finalized with 12 bouts". mmajunkie.com. 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
  15. Penick, Jamie (2013-08-23). "UFC Fight for the Troops card adds Yoel Romero vs. Ronny Markes". mmatorch.com. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  16. "UFC Fight Night 35 adds Yoel Romero vs. Derek Brunson". mmajunkie.com. 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  17. ""UFC Fight Night 35 Bonuses: Rockhold, Miller, Romero, Brunson Earn $50K Awards", by Mike Whitman, Sherdog.com". Sherdog.
  18. "#UFCFightNight in Orlando bout update! @bambamhealy vs @GamebredFighter and @BradTavares vs @YoelRomeroMMA. Tix on sale next Friday.". UFC News. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  19. Simon, Zane (2014-07-08). "Tim Kennedy vs. Yoel Romero slated for UFC 178 in Las Vegas". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
  20. Erickson, Matt (2014-09-28). "UFC 178 bonuses: McGregor, Cruz, Romero, Kennedy earn $50,000". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  21. Martin, Brian (2014-11-13). "UFC 184: Jacare Souza vs. Yoel Romero added to Staples Center card". dailynews.com. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
  22. Gerbasi, Thomas (2015-01-15). "Souza-Romero scratched from UFC 184". UFC.com.
  23. Erickson, Matt (February 11, 2015). "Yoel Romero vs. 'Jacare' Souza re-booked for UFC on FOX 15 co-main event". MMAjunkie.com.
  24. Cruz, Guilherme (2015-05-15). "Lyoto Machida vs. Yoel Romero set as new main event for TUF Brazil: 4 Finale in Miami". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
  25. "UFC Fight Night Results: 'Machida vs. Romero' Play-by-Play & Updates". Sherdog.com. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  26. "UFC Fight Night 70 bonuses: Yoel Romero's elbows bring him $50,000". MMAJunkie.com. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  27. "'Jacare' Souza vs. Yoel Romero rebooked for UFC 194 in Las Vegas". sherdog.com. 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
  28. Brookhouse, Bren (2015-12-12). "UFC 194 results: Yoel Romero decisions Ronaldo Souza in back-and-forth battle". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  29. "Yoel Romero def. Ronaldo Souza". MMA Decisions. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  30. "UFC statement on Yoel Romero". ufc.com. 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  31. Raimondi, Marc (2016-02-08). "Manager: Contaminated supplement led to Yoel Romero's failed drug test". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  32. Raimondi, Marc (2016-03-23). "Yoel Romero to appeal USADA suspension for anti-doping policy violation". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  33. Raimondi, Marc (2016-04-04). "Yoel Romero gets six-month suspension from USADA for failing drug test due to contaminated supplement". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  34. Raimondi, Marc (2016-02-08). "Manager: Contaminated supplement led to Yoel Romero's failed drug test". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
  35. Morgan, John and Stupp, Dann (2016-09-15). "Ex-champ Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero slated for UFC 205 in New York City". MMAJunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  36. Ben Fowlkes (2016-11-12). "UFC 205 results: Yoel Romero unleashes vicious knee on Chris Weidman for bloody TKO". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  37. Doyle, Dave (2016-11-13). "UFC 205 post-fight bonuses: Conor McGregor leads the pack". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  38. Yoel Romero Interview. fightgeeks.com (2014-04-22). Retrieved on 2016-11-12.
  39. UFC Fight Night 35's Yoel Romero: By the Grace of God. Themmacorner.com (2014-01-06). Retrieved on 2016-11-12.
  40. New UFC Fighter a Knockout. FitnessRX for Men (2013-11-05). Retrieved on 2016-11-12.
  41. UFC's Yoel Romero: Ready For Next Step at Middleweight. Themmacorner.com (2013-11-01). Retrieved on 2016-11-12.
  42. Okamoto, Brett (2015-06-28). "Yoel Romero apologizes but denies making anti-gay remark after KO win". espn.go.com. Retrieved 2015-06-28.

External links

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