5 Times Yoel Romero stunned UFC fans with his explosive abilities inside the Octagon

#5 Knocking out Rockhold in Australia

2018 saw Romero finish Luke Rockhold in brutal fashion

UFC 221 in February 2018 should’ve been Romero’s big chance to finally claim the UFC Middleweight title after he missed out on the interim version of it 7 months prior when he lost to Robert Whittaker in a super-close fight. Whittaker was scheduled to defend the title against Luke Rockhold at the event, but when he was forced out with a severe staph infection, the Cuban was given another shot at glory, only to miss the 185lbs weight limit, becoming ineligible to claim the gold.

The fight went ahead anyway – with Rockhold hoping to take the title by defeating ‘Soldier of God’ – but if the California native had expected an easier fight due to Romero failing to make weight, he was sorely mistaken. Strangely enough, the early rounds of the fight saw the Cuban do very little – as if he was simply trying to work Rockhold out – but by the third round, he was ready to strike.

Romero landed a couple of solid punches in the early going during the third round, backing Rockhold up – and as the former champion backed off, ‘Soldier of God’ spotted that he’d slightly dropped his hands. That was all the invitation he needed, as he landed a crushing left hook that sent Rockhold down – and followed with another left that knocked him silly.

Despite failing to claim the title, the win proved that in moments like this, there was no more dangerous Middleweight in the world than ‘Soldier of God’. This weekend will be another chance at him to claim glory – and it’ll be up to Israel Adesanya to find a way to stop him.