When it comes to UFC roster reduction, Yoel Romero
could be just the beginning.
The former middleweight title challenger was
surprisingly released from his contract late last week despite
reportedly having three fights remaining on his existing deal. The
43-year-old American Top Team standout is currently on a
three-fight losing streak, but his last appearance was a decision
loss to Israel
Adesanya in a title bout at UFC 248 in March — and that matchup
came at the request of the reigning champion.
At Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 19 post-fight press conference, UFC
president Dana White indicated that Romero won’t be the only
high-profile release in the coming weeks.
“It’s not just Yoel,” White said. “We’re going to go through some
serious cuts here at the end of the year. We’re probably going to
have 60 cuts before the first of the year. Yoel has lost four of
his last five. He’s 44 years old.
“Our roster is very inflated right now. We’re going to have some
big cuts coming before the end of the year. You’re going to see a
lot of names going here in the next several weeks.”
Though Romero had fallen on tough times of late, the Olympic silver
medalist notably authored an eight-bout winning streak in UFC
competition from 2013 to 2016 that included victories against the
likes of Chris
Weidman, Ronaldo
Souza, Lyoto
Machida, Tim Kennedy
and Derek
Brunson.
Romero was earning a hefty salary from the promotion before being
cut: “The Soldier of God” made a disclosed $350,000 for his loss to
Adesanya in March and $150,000 for a matchup with Paulo Costa
at UFC 241 one bout prior. White said there were no other external
issues involving Romero’s release.
“Nothing like that,” White said. “No, we’re just literally starting
to go through the list. He’s 44, he’s lost four of his last five
and these are the tough decisions you’ve got to make.”