Israel Adesanya believes Yoel Romero basically attempted to cheat at UFC 225.
Romero was set to challenge UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker last month. Instead, “The Solider of God” took on Whittaker in a five-round non-title main event. That’s because Romero failed to make championship weight on his two attempts. The fight ended up being a war with Whittaker taking a split decision win.
Many fighters have been outspoken about Romero’s weight cutting failures and missing weight in general. UFC president Dana White said he was working with Athletic Commissions on reverting back to afternoon weigh-ins. Many competitors were against the idea and the UFC has decided to keep early morning weigh-ins for now.
Adesanya talked to MMAFighting.com about the proposal and why he thinks Romero deserves to be criticized:
“I’d rather it be in the mornings because I’m not trying to be grumpy all day. I’d rather just get it done in the morning and then rehydrate properly. You want to spend the least amount of time dehydrated as possible. That being said, if it is getting moved to 4 p.m. I’ll still make the weight perfectly and I’ll be dehydrated for as little time as possible. That’s how I do it, I’m a professional. Look at Romero in his last fight. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t really care in the end because it was such a good fight, but regardless of what happened I didn’t want Romero to win. F*ck that, the guy missed weight and it’s not even the first time he missed weight. And h’es been caught doing other stuff in the past too. I think there’s an element of gaming the system there, it’s almost cheating to be honest.”
Israel Adesanya is set to take on Brad Tavares this Friday night (July 6) in the main event of “The Ultimate Fighter” 27 Finale. MMA News will provide live coverage of the event.
Would fighters such as Yoel Romero benefit from afternoon weigh-ins, or would it be the same story?
