Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Combat Athletes

9. Yoel Romero

Souza's old nemesis Romero finishes one spot ahead of him. Like Souza, I believe Romero is underrated because he never held the UFC middleweight championship. It was a tantalizing string of near misses. In 2016, he destroyed recent former champion Chris Weidman. In 2018, he fought another recent former champion in Luke Rockhold for the interim belt, and despite demolishing him with strikes, came in over the weight limit. Later that same year, he fought Robert Whittaker for the middleweight crown for a second time and while most people, myself included, thought Romero either won or it was a draw at worst, Whittaker took the split decision. Even as late as 2020, when Romero was a mere 42 years old, most fans and plenty of media, myself again included, had him edging out Israel Adesanya for the middleweight crown. Clearly, someone up there just didn't want Romero to win the UFC crown, despite his greatness. Before all of that, Romero was a highly decorated world champion freestyle wrestler. Romero was a five-time Pan American Games gold medalist, a three-time World Cup gold medalist, won the World Championship in 1999 as well as silver medals in 2002 and 2005 and bronze medals in 1998 and 2001. Alas, he never quite won the Olympics, taking the silver medal in 2000 at Sydney. Nevertheless, that is a hall-of-fame wrestling career to go along with an all-time great MMA ledger.

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