Since a failed attempt to win in his Bellator debut, fight fans haven’t heard much from Yoel Romero or about his future fight plans.
While additional conversations still need to be had, promotion president Scott Coker thinks there are a handful of options for Romero (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) as he nears a second Bellator fight booking.
Initially, Romero joined Bellator as a light heavyweight after a lengthy run in the UFC at middleweight. Originally booked against Anthony Johnson, Romero withdrew from the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix due to an eye injury.
During his absence, Coker expressed interest in a potential drop to 185 pounds for Romero so that he could face Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. Instead, Romero debuted against Phil Davis at Bellator 266 and lost the light heavyweight fight via unanimous decision. While Coker still likes the idea of a fight with Mousasi, he thinks Romero will prefer to stay at 205 pounds moving forward.
“We’ve had conversations on both of those topics, (including) him going down to 185,” Coker recently told MMA Junkie. “He said he’ll do whatever. Personally, I think he’d like to stay at 205 and fight there. I think him and Gegard should fight at some point, whether it’s at 185 or a superfight at 205.”
In the same interview with MMA Junkie, Coker revealed the light heavyweight tournament is expected to resume in February or March. The promotion wants to see how that plays out before it books Romero for another big fight.
“Let’s also see how this tournament unfolds and unwinds and who is the champ,” Coker said. “Let’s get him some contender fights in between. Let’s say as the light heavyweight finals are going down toward the path of finishing, let’s get him a couple fights and see if he can get back into contention. As far as his weight class, that’s something we’ll reach out to him maybe in the next week and see what he’s thinking. I believe he’s going to want to stay at 205.”
The promotion kicks off its 2022 campaign Jan. 29 with Bellator 273 in Phoenix, headlined by a heavyweight title unification bout between champ Ryan Bader and interim champ Valentin Moldavsky.
To see the full interview with Coker, check out the video below.
Scott Coker gives update on Yoel Romero: ‘I believe he’s going to want to stay at 205’