Yoel Romero hasn't done much to earn a title shot, but circumstances may have worked out for him. Similar to how Luke Rockhold's title shot against Robert Whittaker led to Romero being inserted in the mix, Paulo Costa's injury has opened the window for a new challenger and reigning Middleweight King Israel Adesanya has been vocal about wanting to fight The Soldier of God rather than waiting for Costa.
Costa is the clear-cut next-in-line contender for the title, but from the look of things, it's going to take around 8 months or so for him to recover. With Adesanya not wanting to wait, Yoel Romero seemed to be the logical person to get the shot, despite losing 3 out of his last 4 fights.
Dana White, in an interview with journalist Adam Glynn, revealed that he'll give Yoel Romero the title shot, but only under one condition. (H/T MMA Junkie):
“(Adesanya) wants to fight Yoel Romero. He wants Romero. We’re talking about giving Romero a fight coming up soon here and then (Adesanya) will fight the winner of that one.”
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As for Paulo Costa, Dana White isn't convinced of his confidence that he'll return as soon as he claims.
“Well, Costa tore his bicep, so he had to have surgery. He’s claiming he’ll be back sooner than he will be. That’s not what the doctor is telling me. So that’s not true.”
This likely means that we'll be seeing Yoel Romero fight sometime in early 2020. The January or February PPV would be a good slot for him, but the contenders are limited.
Jared Cannonier would be a logical choice of an opponent as he's coming off a hot win streak of late. If Romero wins that, we'll definitely be seeing him face Adesanya sooner than later.
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