6. Yoel Romero
Yoel Romero makes his second Sherdog Top 10 here, though I think he should have been much higher, as I had him first. Similar to his nemesis, No. 9 entry Ronaldo Souza, I believe the Cuban dynamo is deeply underrated because he never held the UFC middleweight championship, though he arguably should have a few times over. Coming into MMA as one of the most decorated amateur wrestlers ever, including world championship gold and Olympic silver, Romero shocked everyone with some of the most vicious, dynamic striking the sport will ever see. Much has been written about Romero's amazing blend of speed and power, but it should be noted how technically clean his boxing was, a remarkable trait for someone who didn't focus on striking until his 30s.
Romero began his UFC career a perfect 8-0 with six highlight-reel knockouts. That included third-round knockouts of Derek Brunson, Tim Kennedy and former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, a decision win over Brad Tavares, and the highly controversial split decision against Souza. Lastly, in 2016, he destroyed recent former middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the third. Yet, almost bizarrely, Romero would never claim UFC gold, with a bewildering series of near misses. In 2018, he fought another recent former champion in Luke Rockhold for the interim belt, and despite demolishing him with strikes in his favorite third stanza, the Cuban came in over the weight limit. Later that same year, Romero fought Robert Whittaker for the middleweight crown for a second time, and while most people, myself included, thought he either won or it was a draw at worst, Whittaker took the split decision. Even as late as 2020, when Romero was 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.
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