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UFC president Dana White feels Yoel Romero is at fault for the disappointing UFC 248 main event.
Romero challenged Adesanya for the UFC middleweight championship last night (March 7). The initial plan was to have Adesanya put his gold on the line against Paulo Costa but Costa had to undergo surgery. Adesanya ended up defeating Romero via unanimous decision but the bout didn’t leave fans happy.
White Puts Blame On Romero
Most agree that Adesanya vs. Romero didn’t live up to expectations. During the UFC 248 post-fight presser, White admitted that he didn’t like how the fight played out and he has two theories as to why it fell flat with fans (h/t BJPenn.com).
“Well there’s two things. It was a tough act to follow after the co-main event. I believe that Israel Adesanya fights to the level of his opponent. The Anderson Silva fight was similar to that, and then you think of the Kelvin Gastelum fight, it was a war. Gastelum goes after him and tries to take his head off. [Robert] Whittaker’s going after him trying to take his head off, that fight was great. And you better believe that Paulo Costa is going to go after him, and that fight is should be ridiculous.
“Yoel Romero, I expected him to come out tonight like a bat out of hell. This was his last opportunity at the title shot, and he didn’t take it. I was shocked to see the way that he fought tonight.
Romero has said that Adesanya didn’t want to engage with him. During his time with reporters, Paulo Costa sided with Romero and said he wasn’t impressed by Adesanya’s performance.
Many believe that this was Yoel Romero’s final title opportunity under the UFC banner. While this was “The Solider of God’s” first undisputed title bout, he had the chance to compete for both the interim a second time and the main middleweight title. Romero ended up missing weight for both fights. He made weight for this bout but couldn’t bring home the gold.
Do you agree with Dana White, or should Israel Adesanya also share the blame for the UFC 248 main event failing to meet expectations?