While fans arguably witnessed one of the best women’s strawweight bouts in the history of the UFC, one of the worst UFC Middleweight Championship matches also took place at UFC 248.
Coming in, many were skeptical over Yoel Romero getting the first shot against new UFC Middleweight Champ Israel Adesanya. Despite going into the contest on a two-fight losing streak, Romero has produced some unforgettable fights against the likes of Derek Brunson, Tim Kennedy, Robert Whittaker, and Paulo Costa.
However, the five-round contest lacked action and many were unimpressed by both men once the final bell rang. The UFC President has put the blame on Romero for the lackluster contest, citing that the 42-year-old didn’t put in the effort to win the prestigious belt (transcript courtesy of
MMA Junkie):
“I do (think it was Romero’s fault),” White said.
“He literally went out and stood in the middle of the … when the bell rang in the first round, just stood there with his hands up. You know what I mean? You’re going in and facing the world champion. This is your last shot at a championship. You shouldn’t even be here getting this title fight. It should be Paulo Costa. If he didn’t get hurt, you don’t even get this opportunity. You go in, and you do everything you can to win that fight. He literally did none of that.”
It appears that the champ himself backs up Dana White’s statement, as Adesanya states that he was unimpressed with Romero and actually lost some respect for the UFC veteran:
“
Yeah, it was anti-climatic. I love this (expletive), man,” Adesanya said.
“I love to fight. … You’ve seen my resume. I don’t have boring fights. I’ve seen people who want to fight. I called out the guy who supposedly everyone is scared of. I’m like, ‘What’s so scary about him?’ I kicked his (expletive) leg. I kicked it over and over again. It was not steel. He’s human and he acts like he’s (not). I definitely lost respect for him. I definitely lost respect for what I thought was going to be a really difficult challenge to overcome.”
Not surprisingly,
Romero responded and blamed the Middleweight Champion for running throughout the fight. The UFC veteran has yet to respond to Dana White’s comments.