LOS ANGELES – Yoel Romero’s back-to-back weight misses have caused concern for his future as a middleweight, but don’t count him among those with worries about his weight this week.
Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) will challenge for the middleweight title once again when he takes on champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 on Friday. The Cuban challenger is confident he will make weight for the bout.
Romero’s first weight miss came at UFC 221 when he stepped in on short notice to take on Luke Rockhold for the interim middleweight title. Although he knocked out the former champion, Romero was not eligible to win the title after he missed weight by 2.7 pounds.
The weigh-in woes continued at UFC 225 when he missed championship weight by 0.2 pounds for his rematch with then-middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
So why did that not prompt him to move back up to light heavyweight, where he started his MMA career? Romero says it’s because in the heat of training camp, his weight drops drastically.
“When I’m training, I go down (in weight), and when I’m training, normally when I have a good training, (I weigh a) maximum 210 (pounds),” Romero said at a media event Monday in Los Angeles. “It’s not possible. When I’m not training, boom – yeah, heavyweight. But when I’m training – 210, 208, 210, 208. It’s not possible for me. It’s not possible because I’m training good. I have respect for my job. When I’m training, I know what I need to do for good training.
“When you don’t sleep good, and when (you’re not eating healthy), something wrong happens: mistake. … When I have a good training, it’s not possible to go up. The (potential opponents) are so heavy.”
Romero chalks up his previous weight misses due to the inability to manage time, especially when he stepped in on short notice halfway across the world against Rockhold in Australia.
“Everybody is different, but no excuses,” Romero said. “You need to do it because it’s the one mandatory thing you need to do as a professional – as long as you have enough time to do it.”
When asked if he’ll make weight this time for his title fight with Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), Romero, who said he was 198 pounds heading into fight week, shrugged his shoulders and laughed confidently.
UFC 248 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Adesanya vs. Romero headlines the pay-per-view main card, which follows prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
Yoel Romero explains why he won't compete at light heavyweight
