Yoel Romero’s run in the UFC was quite the ride. It was chaotic, strange, and unpredictable, but in the best way possible.
Few had any idea what to expect from the Cuban fighter who had little MMA experience and was already in his late 30’s when he arrived, but he brought an unreal, Greek god-like physique and a decorated past in the highest level of wrestling.
To some, Romero surpassed expectations, as the best part of his athletic career was supposed to be in the rearview mirror when he left Cuba to start a fighting career. Romero fell short to others, as many times he came inches from winning a UFC title, but he just couldn’t get the job done.
Either way, his UFC career gave fans lovely soundbites, ridiculous Fight of the Nights, and much more. But above all, Romero created some of the most insane and devastating knockouts ever seen – which will forever highlight his UFC career.
Ahead of his Bellator 297 title fight this Friday against Vadim Nemkov, MMA Junkie compiled the top five UFC knockouts from “The Soldier of God.”
5
Clifford Starks at UFC on FOX 7 (April 20, 2013)
Romero’s UFC debut came with a first-round knockout and a $50,000 bonus for – yep, you guessed it – Knockout of the Night. That sounds very Romero-like, doesn’t it?
In just his sixth professional MMA bout, Romero smoked Clifford Starks and showed the world his ridiculous athletic ability – even just being 10 days away from his 36th birthday. In less than two minutes, Romero hit Starks with an explosive, flying knee that came out of nowhere, sending him tumbling down to the canvas. Romero quickly followed up with thumping, ground-and-pound on an out-cold Starks, winning his octagon debut.
It was a brutal knockout that stamped the arrival of an unreal force that would haunt the UFC’s middleweight division for the next seven years.
Yoel Romero vs Clifford Starks #UFC225 pic.twitter.com/TRSC91FsRy
— HONKY EXTRAORDINAIRE (@Mr_Honky) June 6, 2018
4
Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night 35 (January 15, 2014)
This fight was perhaps the most telling of what would it mean, in terms of a challenge, signing a contract with Romero’s name as an opponent.
Yes, it was another brutal finish, but people forget that Romero was seconds away from defeat if it wasn’t for his late onslaught on Derek Brunson. And that was Romero.
He was never the guy that was going to consistently be ahead in the scorecards or be looking to amass points with the judges. However, he was the guy that consistently posed a threat of a brutal finish regardless of the damage he took, the cardio he spent, the minutes accrued, or unfavorable scoring.
The Cuban fighter stayed patient, stayed dangerous, and deep into the third round he began tagging Brunson. Eventually, Brunson would get clubbed to the canvas, where he laid defenseless while taking hellacious elbows to the body until the referee interviewed.
It was a quality, but still brutal victory for the “Soldier of God.”
Can never forget when Yoel Romero beat Derek Brunson so bad that Derek shit his pants #UFC285 pic.twitter.com/Tv2o3tjMBQ
— Dakota/The Lone Wolf 🐺 (@DaLoneWolf97) March 5, 2023
3
Lyoto Machida at UFC Fight Night 70 (June 27, 2015)
Lyoto Machida vs. Romero was a spectacular matchup at the time. Refined technique met savagery and power in the main event of UFC Fight Night 70 in Florida.
This was a big moment for Romero, as it was his first main event under the UFC banner and the first time he fought a former UFC champion.
As one would imagine, the fight played out exactly as imagined. Machida tried to stay mobile and on the outside, picking his shots. Meanwhile, Romero marched forward and looked to do big damage.
Eventually, in the third round, Romero’s power triumphed. He closed the distance on Machida, got him on the ground, and immediately dished out a series of nasty elbows to the chin that put out Machida. It was an impressive display of Romero’s ability to impose his power, technique and explosiveness on high-level talent.
Yoel Romero finishes Lyoto Machida with brutal Ground and Pound pic.twitter.com/wAzAErWe2P
— The Greatest Jones Fan🦆 (@SmackdownLayer) August 13, 2021
2
Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 (February 11, 2018)
The knockout of Luke Rockhold stands as one of the most ruthless finishes in UFC history.
This fight was scheduled for the UFC interim middleweight title. It was originally supped to be for the undisputed, but champion Robert Whittaker had to pull out due to injury. Romero stepped up as a replacement to take on a prime Rockhold.
Rockhold actually held his own for the majority of the fight, kicking and hitting Romero with single shots, while aware of his finishing ability. But like most of Romero’s opponents, he too succumbed to the power.
Romero tagged Rockhold with a monster left hook that dropped him to the canvas, and then hit him with one of the most ridiculous shots in MMA. While standing over him, Romero grabbed the top of the head of Rockhold with his right hand, and then hit him with the left, which came in like a bowling motion, with full force flush on Rockhold’s face. It was one of the most insane knockouts ever seen.
Unfortunately for Romero, although victorious, he had missed weight by 2.7 pounds at weigh-ins, making him ineligible to win the UFC interim middleweight title. Despite not getting the belt, Romero’s legacy and fearsome aura grew dramatically from that win.
When Yoel Romero drilled Luke Rockhold’s skull against the cage pillar pic.twitter.com/2Jph2m62nF
— BRAWL UNIVERSE 🌐 (@BrawlUniverse) February 13, 2023
1
Chris Weidman at UFC 205 (Nov. 12, 2016)
Romero’s finish of former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is easily his most brutal and devastating KO. This bout marked Weidman’s first fight since losing the title to Rockhold, and it marked the peak of Romero’s best career run.
Romero vs. Weidman went down at likely the UFC’s best event and what UFC president Dana White described as the “biggest fight card” in the company’s history, at the time.
UFC 205 had three titles on the line with Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez, Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz. It also included a number of notable names in Meisha Tate, Frankie Edgar, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Vicente Luque, Belal Muhammad, Michael Johnson, Jim Miller, Thiago Alves, and the list goes on.
And yet, even with that much competition, Romero was able to snag a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his brutality that night.
The fight was very competitive, but as the world already knew, third-round Romero was unstoppable. Out of nowhere, much like in his debut, Romero hit Weidman with a bomb of a flying knee that connected cleanly on Weidman’s head, knocking him out of his senses and opening a nasty gash across his head.
This was the peak of Romero’s 8-fight winning streak in the UFC. One that also had five third-round stoppage wins, and that turned Romero into the boogeyman of the UFC’s middleweight division.
— Follow MMATIME (@FOLLOWMMATIME) May 18, 2023
