One of the most feared middleweights in recent UFC memory moves to a new home in 2021.
Joel Romero will join Bellator in the new year following the news that he has split with the UFC earlier this month. Romero (13-5 MMA, 0-0 PMMA) is promoted to three fight slides with one win in his last five fights.
In March, his only fight in 2020, Romero lost to a consensus decision against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He got that title shot in August 2017 despite losing a decision to Paolo Costa. Prior to that, he lost a split decision to then-champion Robert Whittaker for reconsideration.
Romero, who won a silver medal in wrestling for Cuba at the 2000 Olympics, is expected to fight in light heavyweight when it comes to Bellator. It will return to the division he struggled with early in his career before falling to 185 pounds when he signed with the UFC in 2013. Romero has twice missed the middleweight range – in back-to-back battles, he was disqualified first for the interim title against Luke Rockhold in the fight he won, and then for the review with Whittaker.
Now that he has a new division and a new advertising house, let’s take a quick look at some of the names that may be on the horizon for the 43-year-old “soldier of God” in Bellator’s light heavyweight division.
Note: This is not a ranking.
Corey Anderson
Corey Anderson
Registration: 14-5 MMA, 1-0 PMMA.
Key Achievements: Melvin Manhof debuted at Bellator in November முன்னாள் Former UFC title challenger Clover Dixie… in July 2018… Current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion John Blachowich in September 2015
Notes: Like Romero, Anderson is new to Bellator. The longtime UFC light heavyweight contender who won season 19 of “The Ultimate Fighter” made his debut with Melvin Manhoff’s second round DKO in Bellator in November. He signed with the promotion after losing the UFC in a reconsideration with Blachovic in February. Blachovic won the vacant title against Dominic Reyes. Since Romero fought in the middleweights at the UFC, their paths never crossed. But now they can.
Ryan Bader
Ryan Bader
Registration: 27-6 MMA, 5-1 PMMA.
Key Achievements: Fedor Emilianenko (Bellator wins heavyweight Grand Prix) in January 2019 மா Matt Mitrion in October 2018 ண்ட Lyndon Vassal in November 2017 (Light Heavyweight title defender)… Bill Davis (wins Light Heavyweight title) in June 2017
Notes: Bader has been fighting in the UFC for the last four years. He is now a part of Bellator, having been a two-time division champion at the same time earlier this year. Although Bader is the heavyweight champion of the promotion and there may be title fights to worry about in that category, he has yet to be removed from his second round DKO loss to new light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemko, who wants to move on. If for some reason the heavyweight title is hard to come by for the defender, the 205-pound win over Romero will definitely consider him for reconsideration with Nemco.
Bill Davis
Bill Davis
Registration: 22-5 MMA, 7-2 PMMA.
Key Achievements: Liam McCurry (to win the Light Heavyweight title) லி Lyndon Vassel in May 2018 ல Leoto Machida in September
Notes: Davis, the former light heavyweight champion, has won three straight fights in November 2018 after losing to defending champion Vadim Nemko in a split result. Since that setback, he has won the TKO against McCarthy and Carl Albrechtson in the rematch, and the former one-split end UFC champion Machida competed again for more than seven years fighting first in the UFC. The most recent Machida victory put Davis next in line for the 205-pound title shot in the conversation – which is now a recap against Nemko. Winning Romero would go a long, long way to making it a reality.
Christian Edwards
Christian Edwards
Registration: 4-0 MMA, 4-0 PMMA.
Key Achievements: If we are honest, no one is
Notes: Yes, Edwards has only had four fights in his career. The names he has hit so far in Bellator do not weigh much right – they have been fighters early in their lives – which is a fitting matchmaking. But ask us out. Edwards trains with former UFC light heavyweight champion John Jones at Albuquerque. Early in his career, he drew a lot of comparisons with Edwards Jones about their size and the way they fought. Since Romero fought in the middleweight at UFC and Jones dominated in the light heavyweights, they had no reason to think about crossing the tracks. But in light heavyweight, Romero can fight with a Jones protein, and it can be like watching some kind of wacky time machine fight. Edwards will give up the experience to Romero, he will be young – he is 22. A stretch? Yes. But a fun stretch.
Anthony Johnson
Anthony Johnson
Registration: 22-6 MMA, 0-0 PMMA.
Key Achievements: Clover Dixiera (August 2016)… Ryan Bader (January 2016) Alexander Gustafson (January 2015) ில் Bill Davis (April 2014) – All on UFC
Notes: The news that Johnson has moved to Bellator is almost as new as the Romero news. Johnson has been making fun of his return to the MMA for some time, and when he re-entered the USADA test pool it was widely expected that he would fight back at the UFC – perhaps even in heavyweight. His decision to go to Bellator was a bit surprising, but he is likely to stay at 20 205, where he has twice fought for the UFC title. The loss of the title fight submission to Daniel Gormier at UFC 210 in April 2017 is approaching four years of his latest rivalry. The meeting between Johnson and Romero will certainly be a candidate for any violent award on paper, with a consensus most coveted match for each of the two hard hitters outside the Bellator slump.
Jegart Mous c
Jegart Mous c
Registration: 47-7-2 MMA, 5-1 PMMA.
Key Achievements: Douglas Lima in October (to win the vacant middleweight title) ல Lido Machida in September 2019… Rory McDonald (to retain the middleweight title) in September 2018… in Chris Wheatman (at UFC) in April 2017… Dan Hender
Notes: Here is another option to ask. Yes, Mous Sasi is again Bellator’s middleweight champion. He has been struggling in light heavyweight for a few years. But he fought there from 2009-2013 or later, and he was a 205 pound Strike Force champion and dream champion. He made his debut at UFC in Light Heavyweight in 2013, and then he moved to Middleweight. Does moving up to 205 to take a shot towards Romero mean a ton for Mousy? It does if he wants to take a run as a two division champion. He doesn’t need to lose too much weight, and if anything, beating Romero is the quickest way to get a shot towards current champion Vadim Nemko. Don’t go thinking it’s so crazy to imagine Mous Sasi moving up. This is a fantastic thing to do in Bellator, without question – it usually happens.
Vadim Nemkov
Vadim Nemkov
Registration: 12-2 MMA, 5-0 PMMA.
Key Achievements: Ryan Bader in August (to win the Light Heavyweight title) ர Rafael Carvalho in October 2019 ப Bill Davis in November 2018 ல Liam McCurry in February 2018
Notes: After a Pelletier debut that beat Philip Linz, it was all players for Nemko. McCurry, Davis and Carvalho were former champions. He then beat the double champion Bader in the second round to win the belt and establish himself as one of Bellator’s true rising stars. At just 28, he knows what it takes to stick around for a while as a player. There is no doubt that there are rivals for winning his 205-pound title – including many previous names on this list. If Romero gets a crack outside the gate, there may be a shout out from some of those names – and critics. But the extent of the danger to Romero in the cage is that anyone who beats him has really passed a great test. Platter is not usually interested in giving instant cracks in topics to newcomers, but this is not beyond the possibility.