Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero II official for UFC 225:

Final opportunity for Yoel...
UFC 225 taking place in Chicago, Illinois finally has it's headliner, in the form of a Middleweight title rematch between recently promoted undisputed champion Robert 'The Reaper' Whittaker, and Cuban Olympian bruiser Yoel 'Soldier Of God' Romero. Whittaker was of course swiftly promoted to the undisputed kingpin after Georges St-Pierre's UFC 217 Middleweight crown victory, and subsequent relinquishing due to a battle with colitis. Romero on the other hand stepped in for Whittaker at UFC 221 in an Interim battle with Luke Rockhold, and despite missing weight for the scheduled five rounder, making him ineligible for the championship in Perth, stopped Luke in the third with a brutal left hook and scary ground-and-pound. Niggling knee injuries sustained in the premier meeting with Yoel hampered 'Bobby Knuckles' first title defence against Rockhold, but now with the recent establishment of an undeniable contender, the pair with run it back on the 9th of June.



Since his transition from Welterweight to 185lbs, Aussie hero Robert Whittaker has seen his career sky rocket, both in terms of performances and popularity. Beginning his current tear with a win over Clint Hester, and then stopping both Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson either side of decision wins over Rafael Natal and Uriah Hall, Whittaker solidified his status as a legitimate threat at Middleweight in his next pairing, stopping the legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu player Ronaldo 'Jacaré' Souza via a nasty head kick and strikes. Earning an Interim tilt against Yoel Romero after the Cuban's explosive flying knee over Chris Weidman at UFC 205, Whittaker survived the freestyle wrestler's take downs and picked off a fatigued Romero in the final rounds to pick up a decision triumph.


One of the most dangerous and feared mixed-martial artists up and down each division since the UFC's birth, Pinar del Río native Romero of course holds a silver medal in freestyle wrestling from his stint at the Sydney Olympic games in 2000, but his hands and entire game has evolved no end since his 2013 Ultimate Fighting Championship bow. Yoel tends to wind up and explode on a lulled opponent and is incredibly dangerous from the first bell until the tenth or twelfth minute before we see a notable fade in cardio and an inevitable build up of lactic acid in his muscle bound frame. Eye catching stoppages over Clifford Starks, Lyoto Machida, Derek Brunson and the aforementioned Weidman, Yoel added a third UFC champion to his hit list in the form of Rockhold in dramatic fashion in his most recent Octagon walk, and will be 41 years of age by the time his rematch with Whittaker rolls around, will undoubtedly see this as a possible swansong in terms of his quest for the games ultimate accolade.

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