Skip to content

Romero misses weight by 0.2 lbs, puts UFC 225 main event in limbo

Rey Del Rio / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Yoel Romero missed championship weight by 0.2 lbs Friday before his middleweight title fight against Robert Whittaker, which was scheduled to be the main event of UFC 225 on Saturday night in Chicago.

The promotion didn't immediately announce whether the fight is still on and didn't have an update at the ceremonial weigh-ins in the evening. Whittaker's manager, Titus Day, said his client is willing to fight Romero in a non-title bout, assuming he'd get a percentage of his purse, according to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani.

Romero missed weight by one pound in his first attempt and used almost all of the two additional hours he was given to make the 185-lb cut, but came up just short. He's now the first UFC fighter to miss weight in multiple championship fights after coming in 2.7 lbs over for an interim title bout in February, according to MMAjunkie's Mike Bohn.

Romero's manager, Abraham Kawa, said the executive director of the Illinois State Athletic Commission told the fighter to stop cutting weight an hour into his two-hour window, according to Helwani. The decision was characterized as a medical call by the commission, although a doctor was already present to oversee the weight cut and hadn't stopped it. Romero's team told Helwani they believe that if they'd been given five more minutes, the fighter would have made 185 lbs.

Romero lost to Whittaker last July. The 41-year-old said Monday that he missed weight in February because he was a short-notice replacement. He also didn't expect any issues with his weight cut for UFC 225.

If the fight is pulled, the interim welterweight title tilt between Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington would likely be moved to the main event.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox