Yoel Romero can’t seem to find an opponent and not for the lack of trying. Would you want to face him if a title shot was one win away and he was available? He wanted Luke Rockhold for the right to face Robert Whittaker but Rockhold had reportedly passed to take an easier bout which he won against David Branch at Fight Night 116. It doesn’t matter now because Luke is getting his shot at middleweight champ Whittaker at UFC 221. Here’s what Romero said about the whole situation on The MMA Hour.
I don’t understand why (Luke) said no. I don’t understand. Maybe he had a strategy in the mind. He say, ‘No I wont fight Yoel, I will fight somebody easy.’ Respect to David Branch, but that’s the way he thinks, you know? That’s Luke’s mentality, ‘I want a more easy fight, win and Yoel Romero lose his last fight.
He needed a fight with me and the winner – fight with Robert. The problem is UFC has a show in Australia and (Whittaker is from Australia) is the champion right now in my division. So he needed somebody and UFC gave it to Luke Rockhold because he win his last fight.
I am waiting for UFC . I want to main event Feb. 24th in Orlando. I am waiting for the fight for Luke Rockhold, but I know now he has a fight with Robert. Now I am waiting for somebody. But nobody say ‘Yes, I want to fight Yoel.’ So give me somebody, maybe Michael Bisping.
What do you think? Should Rockhold have accepted the fight instead of the Branch bout?