Dana White reveals why UFC released Yoel Romero, talks about more cuts by the end of year

According to UFC president Dana White, Yoel Romero won’t be the last notable name to be released from the promotion this year. Despite fighting in four title bouts and ranking fifth in the UFC middleweight rankings, Romero was released by the company a couple of days ago. The Solider of God, who recently lost to middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, was released despite having three-fight left in his contract.

UFC latest: Why was Yoel Romero fired?

At the UFC Vegas 16 post-fight press conference, Dana White explained why the promotion parted ways with Romero. The UFC supremo claimed that Yoel Romero is a 44-year-old who has lost his last four out of five fights. He also added that the company is “very inflated right now” and would make some major releases by the end of 2020. “We’re going to go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year. Probably going to have 60 cuts before the first of the year,” he added.

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While White is correct when assessing Romero’s recent record, it doesn’t speak to the larger impact he’s had on the division in recent years. Yoel Romero is a former Olympian who was on an eight-fight win streak, before being stopped by Robert Whittaker. However, he bounced back by defeating Luke Rockhold for the interim belt, before losing to Robert Whittaker again. Some of his last few bouts (especially the Costa fight) were absolutely phenomenal.

According to MMA Fighting, money could be another reason why UFC decided to part ways with The Solider of God. Romero took home a disclosed $350,000 for his most recent title fight with Adesanya after earning $150,000 for his battle with Paulo Costa. He could have asked for an even bigger purse for his return bout, which White and team were not on board with.

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It must also be noted that in the past few months, UFC has signed around 40 fighters from Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) alone. With the recent signing, White has made it clear that the overall UFC roster would have to be slimmed down. Fans believe that apart from Romero, veteran Donald Cerrone, Tyron Woodley and others could also be released by the end of this year.

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Skip to 6:12 to see Dana White talk about Yoel Romero

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Image Source: UFC/ YouTube, Yoel Romero/ Instagram