Morning Report: Bellator, PFL reportedly not interested in Yoel Romero, Bare Knuckle FC says he’d be ‘a welcome addition’

Esther Lin, MMA Fighting Over the weekend, the UFC shocked fans by releasing fifth-ranked middleweight Yoel Romero. The news came as a surprise in part because the former Olympic silver medalist still had three fights remaining on his current deal with the promotion and his last fight was a failed title bid against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, in a fight that was dreadfully boring but also extremely close. After Romero’s release, UFC President Dana White afforded more clarity on the situation by revealing there will soon be some significant roster cuts coming to the UFC to combat their “very inflated” roster, and Romero was just the first of many.
So now, like another recent high-profile middleweight who was let go from the UFC in Anderson Silva, Romero is a free agent and looking for a new home to compete in. And like “The Spider,” it appears Romero may not have as many options as most would imagine.
“Surprisingly, I’m told Bellator’s not interested, I’m told PFL’s not interested. Surprisingly,” Ariel Helwani reported on ESPN. “So there’s Rizin, there’s ONE, there’s KSW. I just hope that Yoel Romero, one of the all-time best wrestlers in the history of the sport . . . I just hope he doesn’t end up in some place like Bare Knuckle or something like that because he deserves better. He deserves to be fighting for a big promotion.”
The issue is, big promotions may not be in a hiring position right now. Romero is a big name fighter who, despite his age and recent losses, remains one of the best fighters in the world and could instantly come in and compete at either middleweight or light heavyweight, so to see the two most obvious landing spaces for him preemptively pass on his services will rightly cause speculation about the depths of their pockets currently. But one organization who doesn’t seem to be struggling in that area is the aforementioned Bare Knuckle FC.
Earlier this year, BKFC reportedly offered Mike Tyson $20 million guaranteed for a fight and they also signed Paige VanZant to a deal that is thought to be quite lucrative. It’s clear that the upstart organization is willing to spend money on big name fighters it thinks can generate a profit for them, and though they passed on Anderson Silva, BKFC is very much in the Romero derby.
“We are very interested. How could we not be?” BKFC told BJPenn.com. “He has BKFC written all over him. He would be a welcomed addition, we will see if we can make it happen.”
Romero is 13-5 in his career and is currently riding a three-fight losing streak.

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[h=1]TOP STORIES[/h]Frustrated. Francis Ngannou frustrated, struggling to find motivation while still waiting for Stipe Miocic and his title shot.
Champ. Deiveson Figueiredo expects ‘much easier’ weight cut for UFC 256, predicts first-round win over Brandon Moreno.
Odds. Floyd Mayweather opens as astronomical favorite over Logan Paul in exhibition boxing match.
Let go. Rachael Ostovich released from the UFC following three consecutive losses.
Maury. Woman files paternity suit against B.J. Penn.

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[h=1]VIDEO STEW[/h]UFC 256 Embedded.


Rise of Kevin Holland.


Road to Bellator 254.


Jordan Leavitt getting on TMZ after the slam.


Free fights.

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[h=1]LISTEN UP[/h]The Co-Main Event. Discussing Marvin Vettori, Yoel Romero, and UFC 256.
Anik & Florian. Discussing Marvin Vettori’s arrival and previewing UFC 256

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[h=1]SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE[/h]Askren and Chase have a show.
How the man looked after the battle.
Showtime got new moves.
Bisping ready to come out of retirement.
Cejudo never gonna let this one go.
Ranking up.
Weidman looking to wrestle Bo Nickal.
ATT has an absurd amount of talent.

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[h=1]FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS[/h]Kayla Harrison (8-0) vs. Jozette Cotton (8-2); Titan FC 66, Dec. 17.
Omari Akhmedov (20-5-1) vs. Tom Breese (12-2); UFC Fight Night, Jan. 16.
Eddie Wineland (24-14-1) vs. John Castaneda (17-5); UFC Fight Night, Feb. 20.
Shana Dobson (4-4) vs. Casey O’Neill (5-0); UFC Fight Night, Feb. 20.

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[h=1]FINAL THOUGHTS[/h]Seriously, even though he’s old Romero is still one of the three best middleweights in the world, at worst. He’s not that far from being the current middleweight champion for heaven’s sake and he certainly fought Izzy better than anyone else has. He would immediately be a great opponent for both Mousasi and Nemkov so Bellator passing on him feels strongly like they don’t have the finances right now to splurge.
Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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[h=1]EXIT POLL[/h]

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