"That’s what happens when your job is 90% head trauma" - Fans wonder whether Yoel Romero is showing effects of CTE after Cuban fighter barks inside cage following KO win at Bellator 285

By Will Miles

Published Sep 24, 2022 16:34 GMT

UFC 248 Adesanya v Romero, Yoel Romero — Yoel Romero at UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero

MMA fans have questioned whether or not Yoel Romero is suffering from CTE after the Cuban fighter barked at the camera following his stunning KO win at Bellator 285 this weekend.

The 45-year-old fought in just his third fight for Bellator since leaving the UFC in 2020. Romero was 1-1 heading into the bout with Melvin Manhoef and the fight looked to be going to the judges' scorecards. However, the Cuban landed multiple grounded elbows that laid Manhoef out flat in the third round.

After the fight and seemingly full of adrenaline, 'Soldier of God' ran to the camera and barked like a dog in celebration.

Fans have reacted to the barking from Romero, with one suggesting it's unsurprising considering his job involves taking blows to the head:

Another fan joked that the Cuban fighter has a "Beware of the Dog" sign at home but doesn't own a dog:

Twitter user @LilMayushii decided Yoel Romero's nickname 'Soldier of God' needs updating:

Yoel Romero slams Israel Adesanya and claims he spent their fight "running" from him

Yoel Romero recently hit back at UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya after the Nigerian-born New Zealander criticized Romero's performance in their title fight at UFC 248.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'The Last Stylebender' discussed his title defense against Romero, which was one of the most anticipated middleweight bouts in recent memory. Fans expected a war from start to finish but were ultimately left disappointed when neither Adesanya nor Romero looked anything close to their best.

Adesanya described the unanimous decision win against Romero as one of the lowest points of his career due to the backlash he received for his performance.

Yoel Romero has now responded after appearing on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour. The 45-year-old said:

About the author

Will began his tenure at Sportskeeda as an MMA writer over 2 years ago and has penned over 1800 pieces so far, including 35+ exclusives, which have garnered close to 5 million views.

Will graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications from Bournemouth University, where he was also a valued member of their communications team. His degree heavily focused on social media and writing, which eventually led him toward sports writing.

He turned into an MMA fan after witnessing Conor McGregor’s 13-second TKO win over Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in 2015. The Irishman sits at the top of his list of top-five MMA fighters of all time, which also includes world champions like Demetrious Johnson, Michael Bisping, Max Holloway, and Georges St-Pierre.

Will especially enjoys working on event days and feels his contribution to Sportskeeda’s UFC 300 coverage was one of the high points of his time with the organization. He ensures his articles are accurate by going through multiple sources, which also helps his writing be as informative as possible.

His interests away from work include football, gaming, live streaming, and listening to music.

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