Yoel Romero News

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

Bellator light heavyweight contender Yoel Romero says that he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Bernard Hopkins and fight into his 50s. Hopkins last competed in 2016 when he was 51 years old, and Romero hopes to follow in his footsteps. Now 44 years old, Romero will be making his debut for Bellator this Saturday night when he takes on fellow former UFC fighter Phil Davis. Romero has not fought in over a year since a loss to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and given that he is already 44 and has battled health problems that delayed his Bellator debut, one would think that he maybe doesn’t have much time left in this sport. However, as far as Romero goes, he still has several good years left in him. In fact, he believes he can fight in his 50s.

Adam D Martin - September 15, 2021

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero shared a terrifying new photo ahead of his Bellator debut this weekend. Romero makes his long-awaited Bellator debut this Saturday night when he faces off against former Bellator light heavyweight champion Phil Davis. Romero was originally set to fight Anthony Johnson during the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, but he was forced out of the tournament due to an eye injury. Now that Romero is healthy, he will be making his Bellator debut as expected this weekend when he faces off against the tough Davis.

Cole Shelton - September 13, 2021

Phil Davis is eager to get the chance to welcome Yoel Romero to Bellator. In the main event of Bellator 266 on September 18 in San Jose the two will share the cage. Davis is coming off the grand prix loss  Romero will be moving up to light heavyweight for is debut. It’s an intriguign mathup and for Davis, when he got the call he would be fighting Romero, he says it was an immediate yes.

Adam D Martin - August 13, 2021

Former UFC title challenge Yoel Romero is set to make Bellator MMA debut against former Bellator light heavyweight champ fighter Phil Davis. Ariel Helwani of Substack was the first to report the Romero vs. Davis fight. According to Helwani, the bout is expected to serve as the headliner of the Bellator MMA card set for September 18, which is tentatively slated to be called Bellator 266. The card is expected to take place in San Jose, California, and Romero vs. Davis will be the evening’s main event.

Adam D Martin - August 12, 2021

Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi says he is open to fighting former UFC standout Yoel Romero in the Bellator cage. Mousasi returns to the Bellator cage on Friday night when he takes on John Salter for the Bellator middleweight title. While “The Dream Catcher” knows he can’t look too far ahead, when the media asked him who he wants to fight next, he had to give them a name. That name would be Romero, the former UFC middleweight title challenger who recently signed with Bellator. “The Soldier of God” was supposed to take part in the promotion’s 205lbs tournament, but he was forced out of the tournament due to a medical issue. Once he’s healthy, Mousasi says that he is open to fighting the man that no one else wants to fight.

Adam D Martin - June 6, 2021

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero says that he wants to “kill somebody” in his Bellator debut later this summer. Romero was released by the UFC earlier this year in a surprise decision, but he quickly landed with Bellator MMA and was poised to fight Anthony Johnson in the first round of the Bellator World Light Heavyweight Grand Prix. However, Romero was forced out of the tournament due to a medical issue, which has pushed back his Bellator debut. According to Romero, he is now feeling better and is expected to make his Bellator debut soon.

Adam D Martin - April 30, 2021

Anthony Johnson issued a statement after Yoel Romero was pulled from the upcoming Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. Johnson vs. Romero was one of four scheduled quarterfinal bouts in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix and it was set to go down next Friday, May 7 for five rounds or less. Unfortunately for both men, the fight will not go on as planned after Romero failed a pre-fight medical scan and was removed from the tournament entirely. That means Johnson currently is without an opponent, though Bellator is expected to name a replacement soon, with Julius Anglickas the favorite to take Romero’s spot in the tourney.

Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021

Yoel Romero is out of his fight against Anthony Johnson on May 7. Romero and Johnson were set to make their Bellator debuts in the quarterfinals of the light heavyweight grand prix. It was a highly-anticipated fight but on Thursday evening, the promotion revealed to CBS Sports that Romero is out of the scrap and the tournament after he failed his pre-fight medical. The nature of Romero’s issue of why he failed the medical was not disclosed.

Chris Taylor - April 2, 2021

Former UFC title challenger Anthony Johnson has shared his thoughts on a potential heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. Ever since Ngannou (16-3 MMA) dethroned Stipe Miocic to become “The Baddest Man on the Planet” at UFC 260, all the talk has been of a potential super-fight with Jones.

Adam D Martin - March 29, 2021

The Bellator debuts of Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero have been delayed until May as the promotion shuffled up its upcoming schedule. Bellator’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix begins in April with eight of the world’s best 205lbers going at it for the chance to win $1 million and the belt. On April 9 at Bellator 256, the tournament begins when Ryan Bader and Lyoto Machida have a rematch. The two previously met in the UFC back in 2012 with Machida winning the fight by knockout. Nine years later and they meet again under the Bellator banner. The co-main event for that card was supposed to feature Corey Anderson vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradv, but that fight has now been pushed back to Bellator 257 on April 16. That means that the fight between Johnson and Romero, which was originally targeted for that date, has been rescheduled.

Adam Martin - February 15, 2021

Yoel Romero looks to be in phenomenal shape ahead of his upcoming Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix fight against Anthony Johnson. Romero was a surprise cut by the UFC late last year and he soon afterward he signed a free-agent deal with Bellator. The organization last week announced that it will be holding an eight-man 205lbs tournament in 2021 and Romero will be a part of it. Though he competed as a middleweight in the UFC, Romero will be moving back up to light heavyweight in Bellator, a weight class that he used to fight at in Strikeforce. The hope is that the 43-year-old Cuban will have a fuller tank of gas now that he doesn’t have to cut a ton of weight at 205lbs.

Adam Martin - February 9, 2021

The betting odds have been released for the upcoming Bellator MMA Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix tournament quarterfinals. Bellator announced the complete eight-man bracket for the promotion’s highly-anticipated 205lbs tournament on Tuesday. Hours later, the oddsmakers released the betting odds for all four quarterfinal matchups. Take a look at the opening odds for the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix via BetOnline.

Tom Taylor - February 9, 2021

Bellator MMA is reportedly plotting an eight-man light heavyweight tournament featuring former UFC stars Yoel Romero, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Corey Anderson, and more. Bellator’s light heavyweight division has been quite strong for awhile now, as the home of fighters like Phil Davis, Ryan Bader, and reigning champion Vadim Nemkov. After the promotion signed former UFC contenders like Romero, Rumble and Anderson, however, its light heavyweight division is better than ever—debatably even better than the UFC’s.

Adam Martin - February 8, 2021

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.

Adam D Martin - December 27, 2020

Bellator president Scott Coker says that social media support made him sign former UFC star Yoel Romero to a contract with his organization. Coker and Bellator initially passed on signing Romero after the UFC released him earlier this month. Citing a younger roster as the reason for not bringing in Romero into his promotion, Coker said that Bellator wasn’t interested in signing him. However, after Bellator signed former UFC light heavyweight title contender Anthony Johnson a few days later, Coker did an about-face and signed Romero to a contract.

Cole Shelton - December 16, 2020

Anthony Johnson isn’t sure where Yoel Romero got his information from that it is 90 percent likely they will fight one another in their debuts. Both Johnson and Romero parted ways with the UFC and signed with Bellator this month and both men will fight at light heavyweight. Immediately, fans called for them to fight one another and even Romero said it is likely. “Rumble,” however, hasn’t heard any of that talk but is open to the fight.

Tom Taylor - December 16, 2020

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.

Tom Taylor - December 15, 2020

MMA manager Malki Kawa claims YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul turned down a fight with one of his star clients, Yoel Romero. Paul has been the talk of the combat sports world after he picked up a brutal knockout victory over former NBA star Nate Robinson on the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. undercard last month.