Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 'very interested' in signing Yoel Romero; Says he has BKFC written all over him

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) has expressed its interest in signing free agent Yoel Romero.

BKFC President David Feldman has asserted that the promotion is ‘very interested’ in signing Yoel Romero. According to BJPenn.com, they’re going to try to add Romero to the promotion’s roster. Feldman stated –

“We are very interested. How could we not be? He has BKFC written all over him. He would be a welcomed addition, we will see if we can make it happen.”

Yoel Romero is no longer a part of UFC

Yoel Romero made his MMA debut back in 2009 and proceeded to slowly work his way up the ranks in the sport. Romero eventually made his UFC debut in the year 2013.

The Soldier of God went on an impressive winning streak in UFC until he fought then-UFC Middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, for the title back in July of 2017.

After a closely contested bout, Yoel Romero ended up on the wrong side of the judges’ scorecards. Romero lost the five-round UFC Middleweight title bout to Whittaker via unanimous decision.

However, Romero subsequently returned to winning ways by defeating former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold via third-round KO in February of 2018.

Yoel Romero then competed in a rematch against Robert Whittaker in June 2018. This fight witnessed Romero stun, drop, and almost finish Whittaker on multiple occasions.

However, after five hard-fought rounds, the judges’ verdict was a split decision in favor of Whittaker. Many in the MMA community believe that Romero, and not Whittaker, ought to have been awarded the decision victory in this matchup.

Yoel Romero then fought Paulo Costa in August 2019 and put on one of the most entertaining performances in MMA history. Romero and Costa engaged in an all-out war with one another in their three-round fight.

Romero lost the fight via unanimous decision, but many suggested that the fight was extremely close, adding that the judges could’ve easily awarded Romero the win on their scorecards.

Furthermore, Yoel Romero’s most recent fight was against reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in March of this year.

The fight was rather uneventful, with the large majority of MMA fans and experts criticizing both fighters for their lackluster showing in the fight. Romero lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Yoel Romero has been turned down by a few notable MMA promotions

One ought to note that although many expected other notable MMA promotions like Bellator and PFL (Professional Fighters League) to be willing to sign Yoel Romero, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani noted that both promotions were not interested in signing the Soldier Of God.

Regardless, other MMA promotions such as One Championship and RIZIN FF could potentially be interested in signing Yoel Romero.

Moreover, as reported by Michael Fiedel, Yoel Romero’s manager Malki Kawa has suggested that he could move up a weight class and fight at 205 pounds (light heavyweight).

Ariel on Yoel Romero: Surprisingly, I'm told Bellator not interested. I'm told PFL not interested.#DCandHelwani

— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) December 7, 2020

FWIW: Yoel Romero's manager, @malkikawa, told me that his client was open to pursuing a move to light heavyweight as he enters free agency.

— Michael Fiedel (@MichaelFiedel) December 7, 2020

A rather intriguing observation made by certain sections of the combat sports community, with regard to BKFC being interested in signing Yoel Romero, is the contrast between BKFC’s approach to him and Anderson Silva.

Anderson Silva is an MMA legend and was a longtime star in the UFC like Romero. However, after being officially released from UFC last month, Silva has been turned down by MMA promotions like Bellator, PFL, and ONE Championship, as well as by the bare knuckle boxing promotion BKFC.

On the contrary, BKFC has strongly expressed its interest in signing Yoel Romero.

Would you like to see Yoel Romero compete in the sport of bare knuckle boxing under the BKFC banner? Sound off in the comments.