Last weekend, in the main event of UFC 221, Yoel Romero knock-out former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold with a vicious left hand.
Promptly after the win, Romero sprinted to the other side of the Octagon and climbed on top to celebrate the victory. He then jumped down and ran over to console Luke Rockhold. After pecking him on the cheek, ‘the Cuban’ tried to comfort Rockhold with a bizarre religious speech.
Yoel Romero comforts Luke Rockhold with a kiss after #UFC221 pic.twitter.com/mv6IXxqQP7
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) February 11, 2018
It seemed a genuine display of affection and respect, rather than an attempt to rub in the result of the contest. The gesture didn’t go over well with former middleweight champion Michael Bisping.
Bisping was speaking on his Believe You Me podcast, where he shows his dislike on Romero’s post-fight smooch.
“I don’t take pleasure from seeing somebody knocked out like that, I really don’t,” Bisping said (h/t MMANytt). “He got knocked out and he just looked so devastated, absolutely crushed. Then, to make matters worse, Romero, the guy that just knocked him out, gets in his face, pins him up against the fence, has his arms over his shoulders like that so Rockhold literally can’t go anywhere and he’s professing his undying love for him ‘I love you Luke, I love you.’ I don’t know what he was saying and he had his eyes shut and everything.”
“I mean look at Rockhold there, he looks like he’s f**king terrified, he really does. Romero has his eyes shut and he’s giving him a kiss. Look at Romero there, he really looks like he’s making love.”
Michael Bisping continues, it’s something the UFC officials should have been more strict with and it was a moment that never should have happened.
“It looks like he’s being sexually assaulted. But I’ve got to say, in that circumstance, and I’m not trying to knock any of the officials, but really happy Valentines Day, it’s really quite the couple they make there, I’ve got to say, they shouldn’t allow that to happen in future.”
“I know when I’ve been knocked out you haven’t got a clue what’s going on. You haven’t got a jar of f**king clues where your head is at and you have to piece it back together, and then all of a sudden you have the guy who has just knocked you out with his arms around you, up against the Octagon sexually assaulting you.”
“There’s nothing wrong with kissing a man on the cheek, but I just think after you’ve knocked them out cold, after you’ve taken away their dreams of being world champion, after you’ve literally inflicted a lot of violence, the marks are visible, there’s blood on his face, he’s maybe lost some brain cells and he doesn’t know what the f**k is going on — pinning the guy up against the Octagon and trying to make out with him is a little bit much.”
Do you agree with Michael Bisping’s remarks on Yoel-Luke Rockhold kiss saga?
