Yoel Romero Channels Inner Bernard Hopkins, Wants To Fight Into His 50s

Yoel Romero won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

Romero is a member of the Bellator roster. He’ll be making his promotional debut on Sept. 18 against former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Phil Davis. This will be Romero’s first bout since a failed bid at the UFC Middleweight Championship against Israel Adesanya back in March 2020.

“The Soldier of God” and the UFC ended up parting ways in late 2020. During an interview with Tom Taylor of Bleacher Report, Romero said he was never worried about finding a new promotion to call home.

“When you do something very, very well and you really dedicate yourself to it, you’ll be sought-after. To be honest, I don’t think I did anything wrong in the UFC. I knew I was going to find work. I knew my work and my talent would be in demand, and Bellator became home.

“I felt happy. It was almost as if God was saying ‘don’t worry, you’re in my arms.'”

Yoel Romero is 44 years but to him, that fact doesn’t hinder his ability to compete. He actually wants to fight longer than Bernard Hopkins did.

“I would like to surpass Bernard Hopkins.”

Hopkins is a renowned retired boxer who had his final pro bout at 52 years old. Hopkins has the distinction of becoming the oldest world champion in boxing history. In fact, he broke his own record.

Romero has yet to capture a world title in MMA. He hopes that changes with his Bellator run and his journey starts with Davis in the main event of Bellator 266.

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