The Fight: Robert Whittaker(C) v Yoel Romero (UFC 225)
By Andrew Hickey
New Zealand’s Robert Whittaker makes his first walk to the octagon as the UFC’s middleweight champion this coming Saturday. Promoted from interim to undisputed champion after the belt was vacated by former champion Georges St-Pierre. Whittaker, unbeaten at middleweight, is the go to example of fighters who have benefited by moving up in weight class. A seven fight win streak at 185 pounds including wins over top contenders Jacare Souza and Derek Brunson has seen him rise to take the title of the best middleweight on the planet. He will again have to get past the enigmatic Yoel Romero if he is to hold onto this moniker.
Romero, the Olympic silver medalist, brings with him a reputation for violence. Highlight reel knockouts of former champion Lyoto Machida, Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold have brought him to the pinnacle of the division, 9-1 in the UFC.
He looks to exact revenge over the only man to be him in the organisation. A missed weight cut in his Interim title bout with Rockhold looked to derail his momentum until a clubbing left hand ensured a bout with Whittaker was the only option going forward. Cemented in their status as the two best fighters at 185 pounds, Saturday will see the middleweight division look to regain the stability it has lost in recent years.
The Game Plan:
Romero’s game plan hasn’t altered much over the years. A high-caliber wrestling game, stifling top control and ferocious one shot knockout power. When on the feet, he uses a methodical style to lull his opponent before launching vicious shots from different angles.
Romero doesn’t deal in combinations. When he strikes, he strikes to kill.
The Chris Weidman KO that silenced a boisterous New York crowd is the perfect example . The big question for Romero is how will he utilize his gas tank this time around. The lasting image of him sitting on the stool at the end of the fourth round in their first encounter still remains vivid in the memory. It was clear he was in survival mode going into the fifth due to the ferocious pace he had set in the early rounds. At 41, there may be no time to correct this.
As good as Romero is on the feet and in the grappling, Whittaker has the perfect game to avoid both. Wonderful footwork and a distinct speed advantage stemming from him being undersized for the weight class. Only Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum are under 6 feet tall in the official MW rankings. He will look to get in and out with strikes before Romero has time to plant his feet. His takedown defence is top-tier at 87% and Romero landed only 4/18 in the first fight. Only one of these coming after the second round.
Whittaker is the current 97KG Australian wrestling champion and had qualified for the Commonwealth games before pulling out as a result of pressure from the UFC. Credentials that do not amaze on paper but certainly factor into his rapidly growing grappling.
The Prediction:
Whittaker is Romero’s kryptonite. The ability to keep the fight standing, the ability to hit and move and a gas tank that will far outlast his 41-year-old opponents. Romero’s explosive striking style works time and time again against the bigger middleweights that are more inclined to move forward and not use the level of lateral footwork shown by the smaller Whittaker. This makes it increasingly harder for Romero to hit the one hitter quitter he has become so synonymous with. This mixed with the gas tank issues Romero has long shown can be an issue will ensure Bobby Knuckles will once again take over in the championship rounds and look to dominate the MW landscape going forward.
Whittaker via 5th round TKO.
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