UFC 248 Adesanya vs. Romero — The Main Event Preview Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya (18-0) is the newly crowned UFC M...
UFC 248 Adesanya vs. Romero — The Main Event Preview
Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya (18-0) is the newly crowned UFC Middleweight Champion, and this undefeated fighter made a fast rise to become a titleholder. Adesanya joined the UFC just two years ago, and he started off with a splash by scoring a Performance of the Night bonus for his second round TKO of Rob Wilkinson on Feb. 11, 2018. Adesanya stayed active, notching four fights in 2018. Then in 2019, he had three major fights that changed his career. In February 2019, he beat UFC legend and former champion Anderson Silva in a hard-fought unanimous decision. After the fight, the two men bowed to each other in the ring and then embraced.
The UFC Middleweight Champion at the time, Robert Whittaker, was sidelined with a hernia injury, so Adesanya next faced Kelvin Gastelum for the interim title. In what became the UFC 2019 Fight of the Year, Adesanya and Gastelum went the distance. Gastelum scored an early knockdown and landed multiple power punches, but Israel didn't fold. In the late rounds, the fight turned into a stand-up slugfest, with Adesanya proving to be the better man with late knockdowns and a unanimous decision. His next challenge would be to unify the title by facing Whittaker on his return. Watch the full fight below, and enjoy a phenomenal knockout left hook.
Yoel "Soldier of God" Romero (13-4) is the third ranked contender among UFC Middleweights, and that weight has treated him much better after he started his career at light heavyweight. He's been fighting in the UFC for almost seven years, and he's built his own impressive resume with wins over Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza and Chris Weidman. Romero also has several Fight or the Night and Performance of the Night awards.
Unfortunately, Romero has been his own worst enemy in his pursuit of the Middleweight title. Romero has had two championship fights turned into non-title bouts for him because he missed weight. In his only valid title fight, he lost to Robert Whittaker in 2017 by unanimous decision. His recent losses can't be discounted, as he's 1-3 over his last four fights, but if Romero makes weight expect him to give everything he has in this big opportunity.
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