Photo | Yoel Romero wears Bellator uniform for first time, promotional debut imminent

Newly-signed Bellator light heavyweight Yoel Romero donned his new uniform for the first time in anticipation of his promotional debut.

Romero was released by the UFC in late 2020 as part of its mass exodus of 60 fighters from the roster. It didn’t take long for Romero to find a new home and he signed a free-agent deal with Bellator. The promotion has been on a bit of a hiatus for the last several months but is set to return in April with a new set of events. Expected to fight on one of the promotion’s first cards back is Romero.

With Romero’s debut in the Bellator cage coming up, the promotion shared a photo of “The Soldier of God” in Bellator gear for the first time. That of course means he was wearing Bellator’s gloves. After years of being in the UFC under the Reebok sponsorship, Romero will be able to wear his own fight shorts in Bellator. Take a look at the first photos of Romero in his Bellator gear below via Twitter.

.@YoelRomeroMMA is ready for his 1️⃣st opponent in the #Bellator cage.

Who will it be?… 😳 pic.twitter.com/bUYqkXgoXb

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 8, 2021

. @YoelRomeroMMA is ready for his 1st opponent in the #Bellator cage. Who will it be?…

Romero (13-5) was one of the top-five middleweights in the UFC at the time of his release. The 43-year-old Cuban lost three straight fights in the UFC before getting the ax, but his losses came against champion Israel Adesanya, former champ Robert Whittaker, and top contender Paulo Costa. Despite the three-fight losing skid, most fans and media still rate Romero as a top fighter. Moving to Bellator now, Romero is expected to fight at 205lbs after years of competing at 185lbs.

As for his first opponent in the Bellator cage, there are several options for Romero including Anthony Johnson, Ryan Bader, Vadim Nemkov, Phil Davis, and Lyoto Machida. With Bellator set for a big announcement on Tuesday, you can fully expect Romero’s first fight in the promotion to be among the announcements.

Who do you expect to see Yoel Romero fight in his Bellator debut?