Cuban veteran wary of ‘ young, strong and hungry’ Whittaker
Celebrated Cuban fighter Yoel Romero has identified the weapons that will make rising Australian star Robert Whittaker a danger in their interim UFC middleweight world title fight in Las Vegas.
With champion Michael Bisping sidelined by injury, New Zealandborn and Sydney- based Whittaker will face 2000 Olympics wrestling freestyle silver medallist Romero for an interim belt on Sunday, July 9 ( NZ time).
They are two of the hottest fighters in the division, with No 1 contender Romero winning eight- straight UFC bouts since his last loss almost six years ago.
Third- ranked Whittaker is riding a seven- fight win streak and last lost more than three years ago.
“He’s young, strong and hungry and those things make a fighter dangerous,” 40- year- old Romero said through an interpreter.
“I think that the other opponents that fought with him, I think they forgot about all that.”
The bout will be the biggest of 26- year- old Whittaker’s blossoming career and Romero his most formidable opponent.
“I definitely give his skills and his tenure the respect it deserves,” Whittaker said at the same media conference.
“He’s been at the top of food chain for a long time and I’m excited to fight him. He’s a tough fighter, he’s got a great skill set, he’s got a great calibre of wrestling and striking and mixed martial arts.”
“The interim belt is just an added bonus. I’m more excited than anything in the world right now to fight Yoel Romero.”
While wrestling is a strength for Romero and Whittaker a powerful striker, the Cuban stressed both men would need to display a full range of MMA skills.
“In the new generation, you just can’t expect wrestling, you’re not going to see just boxing,” Romero said. “You’re not going to see anybody just dancing around like Muhammad Ali; that doesn’t exist any more. If you look at the new generation, the dance is completely different.”
Australia will have to wait a little longer for a first UFC female world champion after Queenslander Megan Anderson withdrew from her featherweight title bout against Brazil’s Cris “Cyborg” Justino in late July in California due to personal reasons.
Yoel Romero