Cuban-American star Yoel Romero was pulling a lot of stunts at the Ultimate Fighting Championships. The fighter competed in the middleweight division and is a top contender according to the UFC middleweight rankings. Interestingly, Yoel Romero has participated in several championships and won many medals since the beginning of his career. He was decorated as both a freestyle wrestler, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Learn more about Yoel below.
Yoel Romero Biography,
The Cuban wrestler was born as Yoel RomeroPalacio on April 30, 1977. He comes from a well-founded family in wrestling and fighting. Yoel grew up in Pinar Del Rico, Cuba with her parents and other siblings. His younger brother Yoan Pablo Hernandez is also a famous boxer who won the IBF Cruiserweight title. Yoel has Cuban nationality and ethnicity.
Develop an interest in fighting at a very young age; Young Romero was always in the gym and working out which contributed to his formidable physique. He began his career as a wrestler in Cuba, where he competed in FILA World Wrestling competitions and other wrestling championships.
Professional career
Turning Pro is 2009, Yoel represented Cuba at the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney, where he became the silver medalist. He also competed as a freestyle fighter. Throughout his wrestling career, the Cuban wrestler has won five gold medals at the Pan American Championships, one gold medal at the Pan American Games; three gold medals at the wrestling world cup and one gold medal at the world championships.
After Yoel Romero won the German Grand Prix in 2007, the fighter opted to stay there so he could compete in the Ringer-Bundesliga. When he was there, Romero was the starting fighter for the SV Johannis Nuremberg squad and thereafter; he began transitioning into a mixed martial artist.
As a mixed martial artist, Romero triumphed over Sascha Weinpolte in his first professional fight in December 2009. Yoel won the match by a total knockout. His trainers were combat sambo, kickboxing and MMA trainers, Sergej and Zike Simic. Interestingly, Yoel recorded a 5-0 record in the first three years of his career until 2010 and participated in various competitions in Poland and Germany.
In 2011, Yoel signed with the American mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization called Strikeforce. He had his first promotional fight against Rafael Cavalcante in September 2011. Although he lost the fight by knockout, Yoel suffered a neck injury that kept him away until 2013.
Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) Career
Making his first middleweight appearance in the UFC in April 2013, Romero won his first fight against Clifford Starks by a knockout in the first round. He also repeated the same in his second fight against Ronny Markes in December 2013. The following year he had three fights against Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares and Tim Kennedy, all of which he won by totally eliminating the knockout. .
In 2015, Yoel Romero won in two matches against Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo Souza. In 2016, he had just fought against Chris Weidman. Yoel knocked out Chris to emerge victorious at the end of the match. After going undefeated in nine UFC games, Romero had his first loss in 2017 against Robert Whittaker. He lost the game via unanimous decision.
In February 2018, Romero won his first fight against Luke Rockhold with a 13-2 record and later in June of the same year he fought against Robert Whittaker. Yoel came into play a pound over the middleweight scale and eventually lost both ways by split decision.
Is he gay?
While advocacy for gay rights is on the rise in the United States; he was widely accepted in the UFC. Although Yoel Romero has accomplished some great feats in the cage, it’s his words, not his fists, that concern many of his fans and critics. The fighter was embroiled in a gay controversy following his victory over Lyoto Machida in June 2015. After the fight, the UFC fighter took the microphone and said, “No, forget Jesus,” but his words received as “No for gay Jesus”. The backlash came around the same time the Supreme Court passed same-sex marriage legislation for UFC fighters Obergefell and Hodges.
Many had thought that Yoel had made such a comment regarding the court’s decision; thus sparking a huge controversy within the UFC. However, Yoel Romero, seeing the controversy rage, released a public statement to clarify the matter. He also apologized for the misinterpretation of his words. Meanwhile, Romero has a straight sexual orientation, and he’s not gay.
Yoel Romero’s wife
In addition to his successful career, Yoel RomeroHe also has an amazing family and he is the father of three amazing children. Although he doesn’t talk much about his family; we already know that his wife and children are in Cuba. The fighter left them there as he went in search of a more stimulating and rewarding environment for his career. Romero also plans to bring his family to the United States as soon as possible.
His height and weight
The talented mixed martial artist is very tall, standing at a height of 5ft 10in 1055m. It also has a matching weight of 185 pounds (84 kg). Due to his weight, Yoel Romero competed in the lightweight division (185 – 205 lbs) and he is currently a contender in the middleweight (170 – 185 lbs) to this day. Additionally, Yoel has a male bodybuilder, brown eyes, and black hair.