Israel Adesanya Wants Back Up Fighter If Yoel Romero Misses Weight
Israel Adesanya is set to face Yoel Romero at UFC 248 on March 7. The New Zealander, however, is adamant he’ll seek a replacement opponent should Romero come in over the 185-pound middleweight limit.
The 42-year-old wrestler has twice missed weight in title fights and went on to give great performances. In February 2018, the Cuban missed weight for his UFC interim title fight against Luke Rockhold. He went on to score a brutal knockout win in that fight.
Next, he missed weight for his middleweight title shot, a rematch with former opponent Robert Whittaker. After five hard rounds the judges scored in favor of the Australian, but Romero dropped and hurt his man on several occasions. The decision is one that is still debated to this day.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Adesanya said if Romero misses weight it’ll cost him big time. Either a big financial penalty, or he’ll be taken out of the fight altogether.
“If he misses weight, all I know is I want 80 percent of his (expletive) check,” Adesanya said at a press conference today in New Zealand. “That’s the only thing that pisses me off, because then it wouldn’t be classified with a red ruby on my belt if he doesn’t make weight, and that would really piss me off, and I would probably give the shot to someone else who deserves it. I might ask for the replacement.
“If he doesn’t make weight, I might say, ‘Jared Cannonier, step in,’ or Darren Till – if he can make it in – step in, because, yeah, (expletive) all that.”
“The Last Stylebender” seems to be building animosity for his rival as fight night draws closer. He believes Romero not making weight for his fight with Rockhold was a tactical move, one he isn’t willing to let happen when the pair meet on March 7.
“He’s a guy that’s disrespected the sport,” Adesanya said. “When he fought, his last win was at 221. … Dude, this is chess, not checkers. … He had two hours to try and make weight. He decided not to make the weight, and you know why? He decided, ‘I’ll take the fine … but I won’t dehydrate myself to the point where I won’t be able to fight, and that way he gets to go out there, knock out Rockhold, then still gets to go and fight for the (expletive) belt. For me, he better make weight because I’m coming ready, man. Seriously.”
Who should serve as a back-up for Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero?
