Romero (Not Izzy) Is The Best Middleweight In The World
Yoel Romero will once again fight in the Light Heavyweight division later today (Sept. 23, 2022) when he takes on Melvin Manhoef in the co-main event of Bellator 285 in Dublin, Ireland. It will be his second straight fight in the division, previously defeating Alex Polizzi at Bellator 280 earlier this year.
But though he has packed on the pounds lately, “Soldier of God” still feels he is the best Middleweight in all of mixed martial arts (MMA), despite the fact that he never held the world title in Bellator, or during his tenure with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
“My goals are to the champion at 185 and 205,” he told MMA Fighting. “That’s what’s in front of me and what I want to accomplish. I’m the best in the world at 185. I’m eager to come back to that division, and it’s my first love. It’s a division where everything started, so how could I not want to fight in that division?
“But at the same time, the focus has to be on Melvin. I need to take care of business at 205, and when the time comes to go back to 185, I’ll be more than happy to do so.”
As far as his fight against Manhoef, Romero says he’s not worried about sending the hard-hitting striker into retirement
“It is what it is. If I end up retiring him, it happens. All I care about is going up into bigger and better objectives, keep coming up those stairs into the goals that I want. Whatever happens to him, it happens.”
As it stands, Johny Eblen is the current 185-pound champion in Bellator. As far as a getting a title fight in the division, Romero has a ways to go because he has yet to compete in the weight class for the promotion. But an impressive showing against Manhoef could very well get him there.
All of that said, there could be another baddest dude at 185 pounds come Nov. 12.
MMAmania.com will deliver coverage of Bellator Dublin today on Showtime right here. To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.
https://www.mmamania.com/2022/9/23/23368630/bellator-yoel-romero-proclaims-hes-the-best-middleweight-in-the-world-mma-showtime-mma
