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Yoel Romero to make interim title history at UFC 221 with a rare twist
The rate of interim title fights in the UFC has taken a sharp increase in recent years. UFC middleweight contender and UFC 221 headliner Yoel Romero has been among the beneficiaries.
Romero (12-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) meets Luke Rockhold (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) for the interim 185-pound belt on Saturday at UFC 221, which takes place at Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia. The main card, including the Romero vs. Rockhold title fights, airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
It’s Romero’s second straight UFC interim title fight. He fell short to Robert Whittaker at UFC 213 this past July, but after series of injuries forced the now-champ Whittaker out of a UFC 221 defense against Rockhold, the organization opted to create another interim title.
Only two other fighters in UFC history have competed in consecutive interim title fights, but Romero’s counterparts had a different path to those bouts.
With then-bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz sidelined by injury, Renan Barao (34-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) fought Urijah Faber for the interim 135-pound belt at UFC 149 in July 2012. The extent of Cruz’s injuries prevented him from coming back for an immediate unification match, though, and Barao instead defended the interim belt not once, but twice, before being promoted to undisputed champ.
Years prior to that, after Frank Mir was involved in a motorcycle accident, Andrei Arlovski (26-15 MMA, 15-9 UFC) submitted Tim Sylvia to win the interim UFC heavyweight title at UFC 51 in February 2005. Mir’s timeline for recovery was longer than expected, so Arlovski defended the interim belt once – against Justin Eilers at UFC 53.
Romero, though, is fighting for an unclaimed interim belt in back-to-back fights.
“The Solider of God” gets a rare opportunity at UFC 221. Beating Rockhold would not only be the biggest win of his career, but it would also position him to avenge the only loss of his career in a unification showdown with Whittaker later this year.
For complete coverage of UFC 221, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.
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