Yoel Romero had long hoped to fight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown. On June 9 in Chicago, all his aspirations and hard work may just come to fruition as he takes on Robert Whittaker for the middleweight championship of the world at UFC 225.
At 41, Yoel may be staring at his last shot at becoming the undisputed champion. Whittaker has already stated that this is the fight that will show Romero’s age, but something this author that the Cuban has other things in mind. Here are five things you might not know about the “Soldier of God.”
He has proven his worth inside and outside of the Summer Games.
We already know he medaled in the Olympics. But Yoel’s wrestling prowess stretches outside the realms of the Olympiad. Representing his home country Cuba, he competed and won in other international wrestling tournaments and invitationals like the World Wrestling Championships, Pan American Games, FILA Wrestling World Championships, and the Grand Prix of Germany. He has defeated several world champions and Olympic gold medalists, and is acknowledged as having one of the best if not the richest amateur wrestling background on the entire UFC roster.Fighting is in his genes.
Yoel comes from a family of fighters. His brother, Yoan Pablo Hernandez was a former professional boxer who unified the IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight titles. Ironically, his father didn’t want him to get into boxing. His options then were judo and wrestling. Everybody knows what he chose.He can speak fluent German.
These days, we see Romero speaking in English during post-fight interviews. But this is not the first time that he is learning a language outside of his native tongue. Before coming to the United States, he lived in Germany, where he met his wife. He decided to stay in Deutschland following a successful stint in the Grand Prix of Germany. It was here where he decided to train in mixed martial arts. Over time, he adjusted to the culture and learned to speak fluent German.He has another goal apart from being a UFC champion.
As Yoel prepares to fight for the UFC belt, he has another goal in mind, and it’s one that is truly momentous: to be reunited with his family members in Cuba. Currently, Yoel lives in Miami with his wife and kids. He hopes to one day be reunited with his other relatives.He moved to the USA searching for MMA glory.
Yoel trained MMA and combat sambo in Germany under Sergej Kuftin and kickboxing under Zike Simic. Representing Martial Arts Gym Nuremberg, he went four wins without a loss in various promotions throughout Germany and Poland. All these wins came via stoppage. The call of MMA was so strong that he moved to the United States to continue his journey. He has since fought in two big promotions (UFC and Strikeforce), and now trains at American Top Team.We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.