UFC fighters rarely age this well. Yoel Romero scored a knockout victory on Friday night, making a successful bare-knuckle boxing debut at 48 years old.<\/p>\n
The ex-UFC middleweight boogeyman never touched UFC gold, missing on three separate occasions, one time for missing weight. This didn’t stop him from being a perennial terror to everyone on the roster, including Israel Adesanya in their championship bout in 2020.<\/p>\n
Since departing the promotion, Romero has gone 6-2 across PFL, Bellator, DBX, and now BKFC. His latest victory was a colossal mismatch inside the BKFC ring.<\/p>\n
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Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Romero fought 2-2 fighter Theo Doukas in the BKFC 80 co-main event on Friday, and it went as well as you’d expect for his opponent. ‘Soldier of God’ clubbed Doukas, dropping him three times on route to a knockout victory.<\/p>\n
The American striker’s nose leaked profusely onto the canvas, but he still went out on his shield.<\/p>\n
This fight was contested at heavyweight, and given Romero’s profile, he could compete for the BKFC heavyweight title very soon. The current champion is another UFC alumnus, ‘Big’ Ben Rothwell, who claimed the belt with a stunning knockout over then-champion Mick Terrill in January.<\/p>\n
Rothwell is a true heavyweight, standing 6’4″ and weighing 300 lbs-plus on fight night. All the more reason why a fight between him and Romero would be so intriguing.<\/p>\n
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