Yoel Romero is a Cuban mixed martial artist (MMA) who is currently the #1 ranked Middleweight fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Before joining the UFC, Yoel was a World Champion and Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling. The UFC currently has Romero ranked as the 15th best pound for pound fighter in the world. Romero, a religious man, is known in the MMA world as the “Soldier of God.”
Throughout his wrestling career, Yoel Romero represented his home nation of Cuba in many international events. He competed in the 2000 and 2004 summer Olympics, becoming an Olympic Silver Medalist in the 2000 Games. Romero also defeated 3 different Olympic Gold Medal champions and 5 World Champions while competing in freestyle wrestling at the international level.
From 1997–2005, Yoel Romero competed at the FILA World Wrestling Championships that are held on non-Olympic years. In 1999, Romero became a World Champion when he defeated the 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist. In total, Romero medaled in 5 World Wrestling Championships. In addition to his World Championship and Olympic success, Yoel also won a gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games, a quadrennial tournament held a year prior to the Olympics. Additionally, Yoel Romero won multiple World Wrestling Cup medals (3 gold) and 5 gold medals at the Pan American Championships.
Yoel went on to win the Grand Prix of Germany in 2007, and then joined the Ringer-Bundesliga, a professional wrestling league in Germany. There, Romero trained, coached, and competed for SV Johannis Nuremberg before making his transition into the world of MMA.
Yoel Romero made his professional MMA debut in December 2009. He quickly jumped to an undefeated 5-0 record in fights throughout Germany and Poland before signing with Strikeforce in July 2011, and then the UFC in 2013. In his official UFC debut, Yoel won the fight via KO in the first round and was awarded the Knockout of the Night honors.
Since beginning his MMA career, Romero has amassed a 13-1 record and has been given the UFC honors of Knockout of the Night 1 time, Performance of the Night 2 times, and Fight of the Night 2 times. As the #1 Middleweight in the UFC, Yoel Romero now looks to win the UFC Championship Belt.
