In the biggest UFC release in 2020, Yoel Romero is officially gone.
This past weekend, it was confirmed by Malki Kawa (Yoel Romero’s manager) that “Solider of Gold” was released from the company. The 43-year-old last fought for the UFC Middleweight Championship back in March at UFC 248.
The match was heavily criticized by many including Dana White himself, who made it clear during the fight conference that Romero wasn’t getting another title shot after his performance (Transcript courtesy of Yahoo! Sports):
"A path back to the title after that performance? You're crazy for even asking that question," said White. "He looked terrible tonight. He literally gave up an opportunity tonight. Maybe he comes back in his next fight and looks like Yoel Romero. But if he doesn't, I wouldn't expect him to fight another 10 years looking like that."
While Romero’s performance against Israel Adesanya wasn’t the main factor for his release, the UFC veteran came into the bout on a two-fight losing streak already due to his losses against Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker.
The UFC President addressed Romero’s release and stated that it’s apart of the huge cuts he’s making from the roster (MMA Fighting):
“It’s not just Yoel,” White said when asked about Romero’s release. “We’re going to go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year. Probably going to have 60 cuts before the first of the year. Yoel has lost four of his last five. He’s 44 years old. Our roster is very inflated right now. We’re going to have some big cuts coming before the end of the year.
“You’re going to see a lot of names going here in the next several weeks.”
Despite Romero’s win/loss record, the Cuban has consistently put on “Fight of the Night” performances throughout his seven-year tenure with the company. According to ESPN, Romero had three fights left on his contract. Romero’s manager stated that the MMA veteran will continue to fight as they are currently in talks with other promotions.