Romero Must Lose 13 Pounds In Two Days
When it comes to one of the most dominant fighters in MMA today, Yoel Romero can be named one of them. He is also one of the most frustrating fighters to deal with during fight week if you are part of his workout program.
Romero (13-4) has missed weight twice in his UFC career, both at middleweight. During a fight for the interim Middleweight Championship against Luke Rockhold, Romero came in at 185.2 pounds, forcing the fight to continue without him winning the title. It is a cause for concern as he heads into another UFC Middleweight Championship fight, this time against Israel Adesanya at UFC 248. His current weight is 198 pounds.
Originally a light heavyweight, one would thing it would be easier for him to stay that weight. However, during training is when things get tricky for him. Speaking during a UFC 248 media day, Romero discussed how complicated it is for a fighter like him to consistently make, gain and lose weight.
“When I’m training, I go down (in weight), and when I’m training, normally when I have a good training, (I weigh a) maximum 210 (pounds),” Romero stated, via MMAJunkie. “It’s not possible. When I’m not training, boom – yeah, heavyweight. But when I’m training – 210, 208, 210, 208. It’s not possible for me. It’s not possible because I’m training good. I have respect for my job. When I’m training, I know what I need to do for good training.
“When you don’t sleep good, and when (you’re not eating healthy), something wrong happens: mistake. … When I have a good training, it’s not possible to go up. The (potential opponents) are so heavy.”
The “Solder of God” has about two days before the weigh-ins to make it to the middleweight limit of 185. If not, he is once again not eligible to win the Middleweight Title. That is, if he can beat Adesanya.
One of the reasons for his previous inability to make weight is the schedule in which he is on. Now, Romero believes he is on a different program that can help him out.
“198, muy bien,” Romero stated on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, via MMAMania. “Normally I am 202, depending. It is totally different now. Now I have time for training. That is the difference. I have a time for my training, in my camp. No excuses. It’s no problem for me when I have time for my training. I am not thinking about my weight for my fight. I am thinking about my training camp. Because you need to lose your weight in training camp.”
Fans, Adesanya and the UFC will have to wait and see what happens. Will he follow in Deiveson Figueiredo’s footsteps from the Flyweight Title fight at UFC Norfolk last week? UFC 248 takes place inside the T-Mobile Arena on March 7. The co-main event will be Weili Zhang defending the UFC Strawweight Championship against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.