UFC 225: Whittaker survives punishment and beats Romero in split decision

R. Whittaker wins his second victory over Y. Romero in less than a year. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter UFCBrasil

In an event with great athletes and well-matched fights, UFC 225, this Saturday (09), ended with a flourish. In the main fight of the night, the middleweight champion (up to 84 kg.), Robert whittaker fought a tough battle against Yoel romero. The show lasted 25 minutes, with alternating control in each part. In the end, the New Zealander won by split decision (48-47, 47-48 and 48-47).

See too

Covington beats Rafael dos Anjos, wins belt and calls Brazilian a 'filthy animal'

UFC 225: Claudinha Gadelha and Charles do Bronx put on a show on a stellar preliminary card

The fight had the same result as the first fight between them, in July 2017. On this night, Whittaker dominated the fight in most of the rounds and landed a greater volume of blows. On the other hand, Romero was much more forceful and came close to knocking out the champion in the third and fifth rounds.

“In the first round I broke my hand, it was brutal. It hits like a truck! He caught me in the third and fifth (rounds), I was trying to survive and get the victory”, said the champion still in the cage.

On the other hand, Romero did not agree with the judges' decision. “I think, in my humble opinion, I didn’t lose. The commission, I don't know what happened, didn't give me time to lose the weight. Today I should take the belt, this is my humble opinion. I would have ten rematches against him”, said the Cuban.

The fight

The fight between Whittaker and Romero started out lukewarm. The champion took the initiative in the dispute and threw several stomps on Romero's knee. The Cuban showed calmness with his guard closed and did not respond to attacks. At 41 years old, 14 years older than his rival, he was waiting for the right moment to open the game. Without missing the chance, the New Zealander based in Australia started unleashing his jabs and crosses, and threatened danger with a strong high kick.

In the second round, history repeated itself. The champion took the initiative, landed more blows and controlled the fight. However, Romero managed to free himself. He tried a takedown entry, risking an elbow from below. Even so, Whittaker was superior in the contest, working with jabs, stepping on the knee and being in danger with high right kicks.

In the third round, the story of the fight was very close to changing. The Cuban landed a right cross and the champion fell. Romero went up and was close to a knockout, but Robert managed to stop the duel in the clinch. The Cuban continued hunting his rival in the octagon. The champion even ran to avoid being hit. At the end of the partial, Yoel still managed to take down the New Zealander, who didn't stay on the ground.

After the scare in the previous round, Whittaker returned more tactically in the fourth round. In the medium distance, he once again kicked his knee and avoided entering the Cuban's range of action. In turn, Romero seemed to save his 'last breath' for the final part. Halfway through the round, a stomp hit Yoel's genitals, and he spent almost the regulatory five minutes to recover and rest a little more. On the way back, Romero started to move forward in pursuit of Whittaker. The champion again avoided the open exchange, but received a hard left cross in the final seconds and felt it.

There was no lack of excitement in the last round either. Romero came back with everything in the partial. He connected with a cross and the champion fell again. The Cuban went up and delivered several blows to Robert's head, who hid between his rival's legs. Whittaker managed to get up, but Yoel continued to press in the clinch. He threw knees, took down and dominated the belt owner until 42 seconds remained. The referee placed the athletes back in the center of the cage. But, exhausted, the athletes did not land any pressure shots.

UFC 225 results

MAIN CARD

Average weight: Robert whittaker derrotou Yoel romero in the judges' split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

Welterweight Weight: Colby covington derrotou Rafael dos Anjos in the unanimous decision of the judges (48-47, 49-46, 48-47)

Feather weight: Holly holm won Megan anderson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26 and 30-26)

Heavyweight: Tai tuivasa derrotou Andrei Arlovski in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Welterweight: Mike Jackson defeated CM Punk via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Heavyweight: Curtis blaydes defeat alistair overeem by technical knockout at 2m56s of R3

Straw weight: Claudia Gadelha wins Carla esparza in the judges' split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Featherweight: Mirsad Bektic defeated Ricardo Lamas via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Heavyweight: Chris de la Rocha defeats Rashad Coulter via TKO at 3:53 of R2

Light Heavyweight: Anthony Smith won Rashad evans by knockout at 53 sec. from R1

Flyweight: Sergio Pettis defeated Joseph Benavidez in the judges' split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Lightweight: Charles of the Bronx finished Clay guida with a guillotine 2m18s seconds from R1

Feather weight: Dan Ige defeated Mike Santiago by knockout 50 seconds into R1