Tim Kennedy vs. Yoel Romero Official For UFC 178 On Sept. 27
A pivotal middleweight showdown has been added to Sept. 27’s developing UFC 178 pay-per-view (PPV) event from Las Vegas, Nevada.
No. 6-ranked Tim Kennedy, who was last seen grinding Michael Bisping to a boring decision win at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Nations Finale in April, will face off with surging No. 12-ranked Yoel Romero.
Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review Journal Tweeted the news today:
BREAKING: Added to @ufc 178 on Sept. 27 in Las Vegas: @TimKennedyMMA to meet @YoelRomeroMMA http://t.co/vvrFaCpsqT @reviewjournal @RJ_Sports
— Adam Hill (@AdamHillLVRJ) July 8, 2014
Romero has fought and won four times in the span of a year after cutting down to middleweight prior to his UFC debut in April 2013. His latest win was a convincing decision over Brad Tavares at UFC on FOX 11 on April 19.
Kennedy is undefeated in UFC as well, with three straight victories since coming over from Strikeforce last July. The former Army Green Beret has largely used his smothering grappling to nullify his opponents in the Octagon, but he’ll have a tough time doing that to a massively powerful Olympic silver medalist like Romero.
It could be argued that Romero, who burst onto the scene with three straight knockout finishes despite his accredited wrestling background, could definitely be ranked higher than his current position. There’s no need to argue that former Strikeforce title contender Kennedy will be his toughest test yet.
If “Soldier of God” can dispatch Kennedy with ease, he’ll instantly throw his name into the hat for a big fight, possibly against the winner of UFC 176’s Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Gegard Mousasi bout.
UFC 178 features the long-awaited Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson light heavyweight title rematch. Will it be Romero’s time to shine, or are you picking Kennedy to score another stifling win?
