[autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] has made it a habit of scoring devastating third-round finishes.
After edging out Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in December 2015 for his seventh straight UFC win, Romero was matched up with former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC 205.
Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) started out with his typically reserved fashion, trying to read Weidman’s movement, who landed a leg kick and body kick early. It took over a minute for Romero to throw his first strike, when he landed a big kick to Weidman’s body. Weidman then shot for a takedown, briefly getting Romero down, but Romero was able to work his way back up quickly.
Weidman continued attacking the body, throwing three straight kicks, before ducking under for a takedown that was once again stuffed. He landed a takedown towards the end of the round, latching onto Romero’s back as he made his way up, but wasn’t able to do anything with it.
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Round 2 started with Weidman coming out a little more aggressive, with his corner telling him that Romero is starting to slow down. His takedown attempt was denied yet again, as he continued to mix things up with kicks and takedowns. Romero started to press forward more by throwing a left hand followed by an inside leg kick. Weidman threw a knee up the middle, then grazed Romero’s eye while pushing him away, causing a break in the action.
Romero then tripped Weidman, landing a beautiful takedown. Weidman had a hard time shaking Romero off his back as he made his way back up. He finally spun away, but was met with a Romero double leg that sent him to the mat. Romero landed some ground and pound before the sound of the horn.
Then less than 30 seconds into the third round, Romero took off, landing a devastating flying knee on Weidman that dropped him, and followed it up with some hard shots on the ground that left Weidman in a pool of blood. Referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in to stop the fight, and Romero marched around the octagon in celebration.
Romero returns to action at UFC 248, when he challenges middleweight champ Israel Adesanya in the main event, his fourth attempt at UFC 185-pound gold.
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