Robert Whittaker, a UFC middleweight champion praised Yoel Romero in Spanish after Romero’s brutal third-round knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 in Perth, Australia.
@YoelRomeroMMA Felicitaciones. Una gran pelea. Merecido triunfo. Abrazos
— Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) February 11, 2018
“[Yoel Romero] Congratulations. “A great fight. Deserved triumph. Hugs,” Whittaker’s tweet reads.
The event was supposed to feature undisputed middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker who is on an eight-fight win streak, defending his title against Luke Rockhold. Whittaker, however, was pulled off the card because of an injury, that allows Yoel Romero to step in on short notice and crumpled Rockhold with a left hand in the third round.
Unfortunately, Yoel Romero didn’t win the interim title due to of missing weight for the fight but picked a high profile win of his career.
To remind you, Whittaker defeated Romero via unanimous decision to win the interim middleweight title at UFC 213 but was later promoted to official champ after Georges St-Pierre (GSP) surrendered the belt back in December.
Whittaker said ahead of UFC 221 that he wanted “The Soldier of God” to come out victorious and set up a rematch.
“I want Romero to win because there’s something about his crazy that I like,” Whittaker said on “The Halfcast Podcast” prior to UFC 221. “He’s such a nice bloke – but seriously crazy. I just like him.”
However, Robert Whittaker already defeated Romero decisively last year, UFC president Dana White is planning to book a rematch between the two middleweights when Whittaker has fully recovered from injury.
Romero was able to finish Luke Rockhold despite suffering a leg injury early in the fight. Afterward, he was visibly limping and said he believes he suffered a broken leg in the first round.
Later Romero’s manager, Malki Kawa, clear the situation and said there’s hope for the rematch with Whittaker to take place in the summer.
Can confirm @YoelRomeroMMA has no breaks in his leg, and is injury free… everything came back ok. Looking forward to Robert Whitaker getting healthy and making that fight in the summer
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) February 11, 2018
How many of you excited to see Romero vs Whittaker 2?
