MMA Fighting · Dec 19, 2020
Yoel Romero: UFC release ‘completely unexpected,’ grateful to company for experience
Yoel Romero Esther Lin, MMA Fighting Yoel Romero’s 2020 ended with a major surprise and a chance at a new beginning.
Less than a week after parting ways with the UFC, Romero was announced as Bellator’s latest marquee signing. The news prompted numerous questions not just surrounding what Romero’s role would be in Bellator and who he might fight first, but how one of the UFC’s most popular middleweights ended up as a free agent in the first place.
Romero, 43, spoke to ESPN on Wednesday and broke down how he heard about his release, explaining that it came out of nowhere as he was preparing to step back into the octagon sometime in early 2021.