Yoel Romero sent Melvin Manhoef into retirement with a brutal third-round knockout at Bellator Dublin last Friday. We've now been treated to close-up footage of Romero putting 'No Mercy' to sleep with brutal elbows from the top. A cage-side view of the knockout was initially uploaded by Bellator followed by an even closer angle.
Posting the first clip, Alex Behunin of MMA Mania wrote:
"This angle of Yoel’s knockout is absolutely brutal"
While uploading the second video, the journalist had only two words to describe it:
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"GOD DAMN"
Watch the clips below:
After weighing each other out for most of the first two rounds, Yoel Romero upped his game in the final frame. The 'Soldier of God' managed to land a takedown against the cage and knocked Manhoef unconscious with brutal punches and elbows from the top position.
Manhoef announced his retirement in the aftermath of the bout, leaving the sport with a 32-16-1 professional record. The 46-year-old said in his post-fight interview:
“I didn’t want to fight a nobody. I wanted to fight names, and I did the best that I could. For 28 years, I’m doing this, this is what I love, and I appreciate all the support that you gave me. But today, I think I have to hang up the gloves after 28 years of fighting. Thanks for the support, you make my life great, you let me feel alive.”
Watch Manhoef's post-fight interview below:
Yoel Romero created history with stoppage win over Melvin Manhoef
Yoel Romero's stoppage win over Melvin Manhoef came at 03:36 in the third-round. This was the Cuban's fifteenth professional win, of which 13 have come via knockout.
Romero's win over Manhoef marked his eighth third-round stoppage win, the highest in combined promotional history. The previous record holder was former UFC champion Randy Couture, who notched six third-round stoppage wins.
In his last outing, 'Soldier of God' scored a third-round knockout over Alex Polizzi at Bellator 280, with the finish coming at 4:59 of the round. Notable UFC names like Lyoto Machida, Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold have also fallen victim to Romero's third-round knockouts in the past.