Robert Whittaker Defeats Yoel Romero In UFC 225 Half-Title Fight

The time has finally come. UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and tough division contender Yoel Romero are now set to compete in a highly anticipated rematch.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is hosting the live pay-per-view event for UFC 225 tonight, June 9, from within the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Headlining the night’s event, Robert Whittaker is going toe-to-toe with Yoel Romero.

Romero and Whittaker first went toe-to-toe back at UFC 213, in which Whittaker earned a unanimous decision victory over “The Soldier of God” for the interim title. Whittaker would go on to miss weight for his next interim title fight against Luke Rockhold.

Consequently, Romero was not eligible to earn the interim belt when he knocked out Rockhold. Likewise, Romero missed weight for UFC 225 by 0.2 pounds.

Consequently, tonight’s main event is a non-title fight. Check out the UFC results from Romero and Whittaker’s highly anticipated rematch down below.

The first round opened at a methodical pace. Whittaker probed his opponent with leg kicks and body shots, while Romero continued to look for a solid counter. Ultimately, it seemed to be a good round for Whittaker.

Whittaker began to unload more strikes in the second round, as Romero continued to fight on his back foot. However, Romero also offered a few power shots of his own. The “Soldier of God” suffered a severely swollen eye during the exchange, heading into the third round.

In the third round, Romero managed to drop Whittaker with a devastating right hand. Whittaker made it back to his feet, but was seemingly still rocked from the huge bomb.

Romero poured on the pressure, but Whittaker began retaliating with vicious elbow strikes from off the fence. Both fighters appeared exhausted from the exchange. Still, the two mixed martial artists put on an octagon war reminiscent of UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin’s legendary battle with Stephan Bonnar from The Ultimate Fighter Season One Finale.

In the fourth round, Whittaker and Romero continued to bring the Chicago crowd to their feet with a stunning fight of the year contender. Romero began to push the pace, as Whittaker continued to land power shots.

For the final five minutes of their octagon war, Romero managed to drop Whittaker with a vicious blow. Following up on the strike, Romero gained a dominant position on the canvas and began pummeling the champion with ground and pound.

However, Whittaker managed to make it back to his feet. In the end, this fight has gone the distance after five impressively intense rounds of world class mixed martial arts.

UFC Results: Robert Whittaker def. Yoel Romero via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)