Yoel Romero says Bellator debut against Anthony Johnson is “a huge possibility”

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero says there’s “a huge possibility” he’ll fight Anthony Johnson in his Bellator debut.

Romero and Johnson both called the UFC home for many years, however, both fighters recently landed on the Bellator roster.

Johnson was the first to sign with the Viacom-owned promotion. His Bellator move came after he and the UFC failed to come to an agreement with respect to his plans to return to the cage after a period of retirement.

Romero, meanwhile, was released by the UFC earlier this month in a development that came as a shock to most fans. While it was initially reported that Bellator was uninterested in signing the former Olympic wrestler, the promotion ultimately changed its tune and added him to its roster.

Since Romero and Johnson signed with Bellator, many fans have been drooling over the possibility of their meeting in their respective debuts.

Romero, for his part, seems to think that’s a very likely possibility.

Might not have to wait very long for Romero x Rumble 😳

(via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/x4FMvXVtHj

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 16, 2020

“To throw a name out there,” Romero said through his translator during a recent appearance on ESPN. “Right now [this] is pure speculation, but there’s a huge possibility, 90% chance, that [Anthony Johnson] will be the first one to face Yoel Romero [in Bellator].”

Yoel Romero last fought in March, when he lost a razor close decision to reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. That loss was preceded by a similarly controversial decision loss to top-5 middleweight contender Paulo Costa. Beyond that, he sandwiched a knockout win over Luke Rockhold between a pair of close decision losses to then-champion Robert Whittaker. Suffice it to say that, while he’s lost some fights recently, they were all competitive, and he’s still considered one of the best in the world.

Anthony Johnson, on the other hand, retired after a 2017 submission loss to former UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Highlights of his recent resume include lopsided wins over Alexander Gustafsson, Ryan Bader, Jimi Manuwa, Glover Teixeira, Phil Davis and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.