The Cuban-American star Yoel Romero has performed many feats at the Ultimate Fighting Championships. The fighter has fought in the middleweight class and is a top contender according to the UFC middleweight ranking. Interestingly, Yoel Romero has participated in several championships and has won so many medals since the beginning of his career. He has been awarded as a freestyle wrestler, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. Learn more about Yoel Romero below.
Yoel Romero Bio
The Cuban wrestler was born on April 30, 1977, as Yoel Romero Palacio. He came from a family well rooted in wrestling and fighting. Yoel grew up in Pinar Del Rico, Cuba with his parents and other siblings. His younger brother, Yoan Pablo Hernandez, is also a famous kickboxer who won the IBF title in cross weight. Yoel has Cuban nationality and ethnicity.
The young Romero developed an interest in martial arts at a very young age; the young Romero was always in the gym and trained, which contributed to his great physique. He started his career as a wrestler in Cuba, where he participated in the FILA World Wrestling Championships as well as other wrestling championships.
Professional Career
Yoel, who turned pro in 2009, represented Cuba at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he won the silver medal. He also competed as a freestyle fighter. Throughout his wrestling career, the Cuban wrestler has won five gold medals at the Pan American Championships, one gold medal at the Pan American Games, three gold medals at the World Wrestling Championships, and one gold medal at the World Championships.
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After Yoel Romero won the Grand Prix of Germany in 2007, the fighter decided to stay there to compete in the wrestling Bundesliga. During his time there, Romero was the starting fighter of the SV Johannis Nürnberg team and later he started to develop into a mixed martial artist.
As a mixed martial artist, Romero triumphed in his first professional fight against Sascha Weinpolte in December 2009. Yoel won the match by a total knockout. His coaches were fighting sambo, kickboxing and the MMA coaches Sergej and Zike Simic. Interestingly, Yoel held a 5-0 record in the first three years of his career until 2010, and he fought in various competitions both in Poland and Germany.
In 2011 Yoel registered with the American organization for mixed martial arts and kickboxing called Strikeforce. He had his first promotional fight against Rafael Cavalcante in September 2011 and although he lost the fight by a knockout, Yoel suffered a neck injury that kept him away until 2013.
Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) Career
In his first UFC middleweight appearance in April 2013, Romero won his first fight against Clifford Starks with a first-round strike. He repeated this in his second fight against Ronny Markes in December 2013, and the following year he had three fights against Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares, and Tim Kennedy, all of which he won by knockout.
In 2015, Yoel Romero won two games against Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo Souza. In 2016, he just fought Chris Weidman, and Yoel knocked Chris out to emerge victorious at the end of the game. After remaining undefeated in nine games with the UFC, Romero had his first defeat against Robert Whittaker in 2017. He lost the game by unanimous decision.
In February 2018 Romero won his first match against Luke Rockhold with a record 13-2 and later in June of the same year he fought Robert Whittaker. Yoel entered the match with one pound above the middleweight scale and eventually lost back and forth by split decision.
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Is He Gay?
While advocacy for gay rights has increased in the United States, it has been widely accepted in the UFC. Although Yoel Romero has achieved significant success in the cage, it is his words, not his fists, that many of his fans and critics are concerned about. The fighter was involved in a gay controversy after his victory over Lyoto Machida in June 2015. After the fight, the UFC fighter took the microphone and said, “Remember Jesus,” but his words were recorded as “No to Gay Jesus. Apparently, the reaction occurred around the same time the Supreme Court passed a gay marriage bill for UFC fighters Obergefell and Hodges.
Many had believed that Yoel had made such a comment on the court ruling, which caused a great deal of controversy in the UFC. However, Yoel Romero, who saw the fury of the controversy, made a public statement to clarify the issue. He also apologized for the misinterpretation of his words. Meanwhile, Romero has a heterosexual sexual orientation and he is not gay.
Yoel Romero Wife
In addition to his successful career, Yoel Romero also has an amazing family and he is the father of three amazing children. Although he does not talk much about his family; it is already known that his wife and children are in Cuba. The fighter left them there while he left in search of a more challenging and profitable environment for his career. Romero also has plans to bring his family to the United States as soon as possible.
Yoel Romero Height and Weight
The talented mixed martial artist is very tall, standing at a height of 5 feet 10 inches 1055 meters. He also has a corresponding weight of 185 pounds (84 kg). Due to his weight, Yoel Romero has already competed in the lightweight class (185 – 205 lbs) and is currently a contender in the middleweight class (170 – 185 lbs). Yoel also has a masculine build, brown eyes, and black hair.
