UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya reveals he never watched back the Yoel Romero fight
Reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has taken to his official social media account to reveal that he hasn’t watched his fight against Yoel Romero.
Adesanya put forth a tweet that featured a meme regarding the UFC 248 matchup between him and Romero, and replied to the same tweet.
Israel Adesanya captured the Interim UFC Middleweight Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum in April of 2019.
The Last Stylebender subsequently faced then-UFC Middleweight titlist Robert Whittaker in October of the same year, defeating him via second-round KO and thereby unifying the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Having earned the honor of being called the Undisputed UFC Middleweight Champion with a spectacular victory over Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya faced Yoel Romero in what was Adesanya’s first title defense as the king of the 185-pound division.
Adesanya faced Romero at UFC 248 in March of this year and failed to replicate the success he’d achieved in most of his previous UFC fights en route to the top of the Middleweight division.
Although Adesanya managed to outpoint Romero, largely owing to him being a tad more active over the course of their five-round bout, both fighters were unable to hurt the other or even mount enough offense to earn a clear-cut lead on the judges’ scorecards.
Ultimately, the judges scoring the bout awarded a unanimous decision verdict in favor of Adesanya, as the latter successfully walked away with his UFC Middleweight belt intact.
In the days that ensued, Israel Adesanya’s aforementioned fight against Yoel Romero received a considerable amount of criticism from a large majority of MMA fans and experts.
Certain sections of the combat sports world went as far as asserting that Adesanya’s fear of Romero’s vaunted KO power is what caused him to steer away from prolonged striking exchanges with the latter.
Adesanya, on his part, refused to let the criticism adversely affect him – the talented striker’s next fight was yet another UFC Middleweight Championship bout, this time around against archrival and feared knockout artist Paulo Costa.
Israel Adesanya silenced his detractors with a marvelous performance at UFC 253
Israel Adesanya faced Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in September of this year, dominated and finished him via second-round TKO.
In stark contrast to the harsh criticism that he’d received in the aftermath of his fight against Romero, Adesanya has been showered with words of high praise ever since his dominant performance against Costa.
Israel Adesanya – who’s presently in attendance at the UFC APEX for UFC Vegas 12 (UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva) – has now taken to Twitter and addressed his fight against Yoel Romero. Adesanya’s tweet read as follows:
“Fun fact: I’ve never watched that fight back. Romero ruined it.”
What are your views on Israel Adesanya’s statements regarding his fight against Yoel Romero? Sound off in the comments.