Yoel Romero: I ‘Destroyed’ Robert Whittaker the Last Three Rounds at UFC 225

For five rounds at UFC 225, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and No. 1 middleweight contender Yoel Romero engaged in what many agree is now a “Fight Of The Year” candidate. The fighters went back and forth for 25 minutes, ultimately ending in a controversial victory for Whittaker via split decision.

Romero has now come forward to claim that he won the fight by clearly dominating his opponent during the last three rounds of the fight. The fighter rocked Whittaker on several occasions, including knockdowns in rounds three and five, which kept the champion in survival mode for a large part of the fight. Whittaker fought the majority of the bout with a broken hand, defending and attacking mostly with kicks and jabs.

Speaking to "The MMA Hour", the Cuban fighter has given his thoughts on the outcome of the fight.

“[Right] now, the belt is here in my hands, because I [won] the fight,” stated Romero. “Everybody saw what happened on Saturday night. [I] destroyed Robert Whittaker in rounds number three, four and five.

“That’s… that is life. That’s it.”

Additionally, Romero’s team is blaming the Illinois State Athletic Commission for preventing the fighter from making championship weight for the fight. Romero tipped the scales 0.2 pounds over his contracted limit, making him ineligible for the middleweight title at UFC 225. Romero’s manager, Malki Kawa, confirmed that they will sue the commission for its decision to stop the fighter’s weight cut within the given time limit of two hours.

Romero’s last three fights were all supposed to have been championship bouts: one against Whittaker, where he lost via a close unanimous decision, another against Luke Rockhold for the interim title — whom he knocked out, but was still ineligible for the belt for not making weight —and the aforementioned non-title rematch against Whittaker.