Robert Whittaker vs Yoel Romero II may have been the best fight of UFC 225
Anyone who stayed up for Robert Whittaker vs Yoel Romero II was rewarded for their efforts. Romero missing weight on two attempts meant the middleweight strap wasn't on the line, but that didn't affect the quality of the fight. Both warriors showed up to gift fans a very special war.
Whittaker took the opening two rounds with relative ease. He stuck and move behind the jab, stayed on the outside and chopped down with his legs. 'The Soldier of God' remained a stationary target, conserving his energy and biding his time until he was ready to explode. The Aussie went to work with his elbows and his targetting of Romero's eye caused it to close up in the second frame.
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Explode
In the third round, Romero rose again. A huge right hand that landed flush on the chin sent Whittaker to the canvas. Whittaker was on shaky legs with Romero keeping the pressure on. The Cuban unloaded with a barrage that Whittaker somehow managed to weather. Whittaker's most notable strike in the round was a stunning head kick, but it was eaten well by the 41-year-old.
Romero expelled a lot of energy in this round. He was clearly breathing heavily on the stool. Whittaker started off the fourth well by targetting his legs, but then, Romero got a stroke of luck. An accidental groin strike allowed him to take a much-needed rest.
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It was very obvious by the fourth round that something was up with Whittaker's hand. In his Octagon interview, he admitted that he broke it in the opening round. That being said, he worked his elbows well to take the fourth.
The fifth and final round was all Romero. A clean left hand sent Whittaker crashing to the floor. He immediately covered up to defend as Romero rained down with vicious ground-and-pound. Whittaker looked close to being finished but he was able to just about stay in the fight. Referee Dan Miraglotta had several good looks at the exchanges on the ground. Somehow, Whittaker survived until the final buzzer sounded.
The judges awarded Whittaker the 47-48, 48-47, 48-47 split decision victory. Sal D’Amato gave rounds one and two to Whittaker, while Brian Puccillo and Chris Lee gave rounds one, two and four to the champ. Remarkably, no one scored the fifth round as a 10-8 to Romero.
