Yoel Romero Reportedly Out Of UFC on FOX 15 Co-Main Event
The injury “bug” has affected yet another UFC card, and this time it’s going to hit especially hard.
Top-ranked middleweight Yoel Romero has been forced out of his UFC on FOX 15 co-main against top-ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza just eight days before the event, which goes down next Saturday (April 18, 2015) from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Apparently Romero tore both a ligament and his meniscus in his knee during training, according to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Luke Thomas. The UFC has not yet confirmed his withdrawal.
This is the second time that the bout has been called due to injury or illness, as Jacare pulled out of their original meeting at February 28’s UFC 184 due to pneumonia.
The news comes as extremely damaging to the surging Brazilian’s title shot chances, as he was arguably on the cusp of a shot at gold with seven straight victories. He has not fought since his dominant second round sub mission of former Strikeforce and DREAM champ Gegard Mousasi at last September’s UFC Fight Night 50.
Romero, on the other hand, has been out of action since his controversial UFC 178 finish of Tim Kennedy, where the Cuban Olympic wrestler was badly rocked in the second round before he took an extremely long rest with his corner in between rounds. He came out and finished Kennedy in the final frame to win his fifth straight UFC win.
The promotion has not decided whether or not they will seek a replacement opponent for Souza as of press time.
Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
