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When we talk about the freakiest fighters in the history of MMA it's hard not to consider the name Yoel Romero. 'The Soldier of God' has done some incredible things in the world of combat sports.
Yoel Romero made his nation proud by winning a silver medal in the Olympics. He dominated countless opponents in wrestling until he decided to make the switch to MMA. And he became a force to be reckoned with in the biggest MMA organization in the world, UFC.
Yoel Romero fought the most elite fighters of the middleweight division on his journey to the top. He destroyed legends such as Lyoto Machida, Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold, and the list goes on. After his destruction in the middleweight division, Yoel Romero earned a shot at the interim title on UFC 213.
Yoel Romero fought Robert Whittaker in one of the most exciting title fights in the history of UFC. However, he lost to Whittaker via unanimous decision. But, that would not stop Romero's journey to the middleweight throne as he would fight Luke Rockhold for the interim title in his next fight.
After Robert Whittaker pulled out due to an injury, Yoel Romero stepped up to fight for the middleweight interim title. He destroyed Luke Rockhold in the first round with ease. However, he could not get his hands on the UFC gold as he missed weight for the title fight by 2.7lbs.
Romero would again get a couple of opportunities to fight for the undisputed UFC middleweight title. He fought Robert Whittaker at UFC 225 and Israel Adesanya at UFC 248. However, he lost both the fights. Romero lost to Whittaker via split decision after 5 rounds of war. But, he faced a unanimous decision defeat against Adesanya in a less eventful title fight.
Is Yoel Romero the unluckiest UFC fighter?
If it was not for a botched weight cut Yoel Romero would have been crowned the interim title after he knocked out Luke Rockhold. He even missed weight in the second title fight against Robert Whittaker. The Cuban has had four title fights in his UFC career. Although he has all the skillsets one needs to be the UFC champion he has always fallen short.
It can't be debated that Yoel Romero would go into the history book as one of the best fighters to never hold a UFC title. However, there are a few other fighters who have done incredible things in the sports except for holding a UFC title.
One of the most accomplished heavyweight kickboxers, Alistair Overeem has never been a UFC champion. UFC legends such as Dan Henderson, Alexander Gustafsson, Joseph Benavidez, and Urijah Faber have never been a UFC champion.
Alexander Gustafsson was the first fighter to come close to beat arguably the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, Jon Jones. Urijah Faber held WEC titles but never became a UFC champion. So calling Yoel Romero the best fighter to never win a UFC title will not be appreciated by many fans and rightfully so. However, he is surely one of the most entertaining and frightening fighters to ever step into the UFC octagon.
