With three fights left on his contract, Yoel Romero has parted ways with the UFC according to a report Friday from MMA Junkie who confirmed the transaction with Romero’s agent.
The middleweight contender last fought at UFC 248 in March, a loss to Israel Adesanya. The 43-year-old former Olympian first fought in the UFC in April 2013. He was one of the more entertaining middleweights on the roster. However, he dropped two fights vying for the middleweight championship.
Despite being in his 40s, Romero has the third most knockouts in middleweight history and the third most-knockdowns. Romero is not slowing down as all indications point to the Cuban fighter to continue his career elsewhere.
Payout Perspective:
Perhaps the writing was on the wall for Romero who failed to wrest the middleweight title away from Israel Adesanya. He is in phenomenal shape for being in his 40s but its likely he wants to win a title and probably would not have earned another title shot especially if Adesanya remains champ. Bellator, ONE Championship and PFL all interesting landing spots for Romero. From the UFC perspective, Romero was at the top of the payscale for non-champions with his last fight being paid $350,000. Releasing Romero likely alleviates some of the pay for a guy that will not be fighting for a championship any time soon.
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