Bellator commentators [autotag]Josh Thomson[/autotag] and [autotag]John McCarthy[/autotag] are somewhat on the fence about a potential [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] move to Bellator.
The former UFC title challenger was released from the promotion on Friday in a move that caught many by surprise, though UFC president Dana White confirmed more releases are on the way. Romero (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) was in the top five of the UFC’s official middleweight rankings before getting dropped from the roster. He’s been a top contender in the promotion for many years.
And with Romero now free agent, many have been left wondering where he’ll go next, as he’s still one of the most dangerous middleweights today.
“It’s an age thing, it really is,” Thomson said on his and McCarthy’s “Weighing In” podcast on Sunday. “He’s 43 years old. They (UFC) know that he’s not going to be champion.”
McCarthy understands how the age factor could be a problem for Romero, but also pointed out that the “Soldier of God” is arguably the most athletic middleweight today despite his age. McCarthy also questioned Romero’s age, citing that he could be older than 43 because “Cubans lie about their age,” though it’s important to note no such evidence has ever been presented regarding Romero.
“Biologically, he’s 43, but he might be older than that,” McCarthy said. “So he might even be older than 43, but you look at what he really is and you look at his body, and that dude is like 32 years old. He’s a stud. He’s made out of a different material than 99.9 percent of us.”
Romero last fought in March at UFC 248 where he fell short in a title fight against current UFC middlweight champion Israel Adesanya. It was an uneventful bout that ended in a split decision for the champion.
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Thomson said Romero is still skilled enough to become champion, but questions his longevity in the sport, which from his perspective is a bad investment for promotors – including Bellator.
“They (UFC) don’t want to get in the business of older fighters,” Thomson said. “Let’s say ‘Izzy’ moves out. He’s not going to fight for a title again. Dana said that was pretty much his last shot the last time he fought. He’s like, ‘Look, I’m not going to do it for you. If you’re 43, you’re my champion, you’re going to fight another year or two and then you’re gone.
“There’s no reason to have you fight again for the championship. You’re 43 years old, so it’s not going to make sense. They’re probably paying him a pretty penny because he is good. I think he was ranked No. 4 when they let him go. … I hope we (Bellator) don’t sign him.”
There’s no denying that Romero is among the oldest fighters competing today in MMA. However, he had a late start in MMA, debuting when he was 32.
Romero has also had some of his best career moments in recent times. With the lack luster title fight against Adesanya aside, Romero did plenty in his previous four bouts.
He had a wild “Fight of the Night” brawl against Paulo Costa at UFC 241, two back-and-forth wars with then champion Robert Whittaker – one in 2017 and another 2018 – and a highlight-reel knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 in early 2018.
McCarthy said he agrees with Thomson, but the fan in him keeps him from making that a hard “no” for a potential Romero move to Bellator.
“What tells me don’t sign him is 43,” McCarthy explained. “The things that tell me do sign him, I know biologically he’s 43 or plus, but physically he’s a (explicit) monster and can beat anybody any given day.
“So I always like watching a guy. And I’ll tell you, there’s times that I’m so impressed with his performance, and there’s times where I’m disappointed with his performances. His fight against ‘Izzy’ was horrible. So I’m not going to sit here and say I’m homer for Yoel. There’s times he’s fought really well, and there’s times he fought really bad. But he’s a guy you look at and go, ‘Man, I could actually see him against Gegard (Mousasi), and that be a fun fight to watch. But because he’s 43, overall I’d say no.”
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