UFC: Israel Adesanya on Yoel Romero’s ‘cheating’ in the Octagon – ‘can you sleep at night?’
- Champion Adesanya says it was hard to sell his upcoming fight with Romero because of ‘vet moves aka cheating’ and losses
- ‘The Last Stylebender’ accuses contender Romero of deliberately missing weight at interim fight with Robert Whittaker
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is fully aware of upcoming opponent Yoel Romero’s reputation as a crafty veteran in the Octagon – but “The Last Stylebender” isn’t “one of those people” and plays by the rules.
Nigerian-New Zealander Adesanya (professional MMA record 18-0) squares up with Cuban Romero (13-4) at UFC 248 in the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, on March 8.
The 42-year-old Romero, an Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medallist, has been accused in the past of illegally grabbing opponents, time wasting, among other tricks during his fights.
“What is it, stool-gate, missing weight, fence grabs, shorts [grabs], glove grabbing – and they call these veteran moves,” said Adesanya of Romero to Submission Radio.
“Let me tell you, some people will do anything to win whether it’s right or wrong. I’m not one of those people. I don’t damn the rules even though I’m the Stylebender. The only time I remember being warned [in the Octagon] was against Brad Tavares, when [referee] Herb Dean said you gotta close your hands … find another fight where I’ve been warned.
“I play by the rules because I want an even playing field and I wanna play fair. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do but can you sleep with yourself at night? Can you win a world title cheating, then be okay with it?”
Romero, meanwhile, has lost his past two fights against Whittaker – a title fight – and Paulo Costa. His last win was a knockout against Luke Rockhold in 2018.
“It was a hard [fight] to sell because … you can’t give a title shot to a guy who has had numerous title shots. Who’s known for a little vet moves aka cheating,” Adesanya said.
“Yeah, he is [lucky]. Think about it, his last UFC win was my UFC debut. Let that sink in. I’ve not been here for a long time. He’s a guy that even in that interim fight [against Whittaker], he didn’t make weight.
“He could have spent the extra hours but chose not to because his team decided they’ll take the fine and get the shot at the title anyway. These are tactics. He’s lost his last three out of four and he’s had two or three different title shots. I mean come on.
“It’s not really about him – they’re coming to watch me and they’re hoping he can take me out. From the get-go, my first UFC fight, all they said was ‘feed him to Romero, he’ll take him down and it’s over’. That’s what the casuals and experts felt … No-one asks to fight him, but I’m doing something different.”
