Whittaker beats Romero in rematch at ‘UFC 225’
Covington outstrikes Dos Anjos
CHICAGO, June 10, (AP): Robert Whittaker barely got the fight to the judges before they handed him a win in a grueling rematch.
Whittaker survived a staggering blow in the fifth round to beat Yoel Romero in a split decision at UFC 225 on Saturday night.
Whittaker (21-4) won despite being outworked in the fifth. He was shaken up after taking a hard left hand from Romero (13-3) early in the round, and the fight was scored 48-47 by all three judges, one in Romero's favor.
Whittaker also injured his right hand in the first round.
"Yoel hits like a truck and I just had to try and survive and make the comeback," Whittaker said. "I could have seen it going any way because it was pound over in the first weigh-in, then .2 over in the second and final weigh-in. The fight was originally for the middleweight championship. The duo fought anyway, but without a belt on the line.
"It's a long flight to Chicago. If I travel 22 hours, I'm fighting someone, mate," said Whittaker, who is from New Zealand.
Romero was tentative in the first round, and Whittaker damaged his right eye in the second with a kick. Romero then exploded in the third, landing a left and bringing down the champ. Romero controlled the third round with a series of combinations, but Whittaker was able to land two significant kicks.
Whittaker kicked Romero below the belt in the fourth round, which put a halt to the fight for about a minute. Whittaker regained control in the fourth, but Romero landed a hard left and right late in the round. In the fifth, Romero controlled the round, bring down Whittaker with a series of left hands, then pounded with a right hand.
At UFC 213, Whittaker gutted out a grueling 25-minute brawl against Romero with all three judges scoring it 48-47.
This card featured five current and former UFC champions in front of a sold-out United Center crowd. In the co-main event, Colby Covington (141) defeated Rafael dos Anjos (28-10) for the interim welterweight championship in a unanimous decision. Covington controlled the five-round title fight by outstriking the former lightweight champ.
The outspoken Covington called out current welterweight champ Tyron Woodley. Woodley has been out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.
In his second pro fight, former WWE star CM Punk, a Chicago native, had the crowd chanting his name in the first round, but Punk was unable to show any sense of force in the cage against Mike Jackson (1-1). Jackson peppered Punk (0-2) with punches to the face throughout the fight and won in a lackluster unanimous decision. Punk, who was featured on the main card, didn't help his standing with the UFC after two disappointing showings.