UFC 225 Robert Whittaker vs Yoel Romero middleweight title fight: When, where and how to watch live
Brendan Bradford
May 3, 2018
Robert Whittaker will defend his UFC middleweight title against Yoel Romero at UFC 225 in Chicago on June 9. The fight card will air in Australia on June 10.
Whittaker is Australia and New Zealand’s first ever UFC champion and this will be the first defence of the middleweight title.
Cuban veteran Romero is coming off a third-round knockout win over Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 in Perth in February.
It will be the second time Whittaker and Romero have fought, with ‘The Reaper’ earning a unanimous decision win over the ‘Soldier of God’ at UFC 213 in Las Vegas last year.
It’s shaping to be a great fight, and there are plenty of other reasons to watch as well, with two other Aussies on the card.
Here’s absolutely everything you need to know about UFC 225.
When is Robert Whittaker fighting Yoel Romero?
Robert Whittaker fights Yoel Romero at UFC 225 on June 9. That works out to be June 10 in Australia and New Zealand.
Where is UFC 225?
UFC 225 will be held at the United Center in Chicago.
The arena is the home of the NBA’s Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks.
How to watch UFC 225: Whittaker vs Romero
The main card of UFC 225 will be shown on pay-per-view on Main Event. As always, the early preliminary fights can be streamed on Fight Pass, while the prelims are on Fox Sports.
Who else is fighting at UFC 225
This card is stacked. Big time.
The co-main event sees Rafael dos Anjos square off against Colby Covington for the interim welterweight title, while former bantamweight champion Holly Holm fights Australia’s Megan Anderson in a featherweight bout.
Heavyweight veteran Alistair Overeem fights hometown fighter Curtis Blaydes and CM Punk gets his second UFC bout against Mike Jackson.
But even the prelims have some bangers.
Joseph Benavidez fights Sergio Pettis, Claudia Gadelha takes on Carla Esparza and Australian favourite Tai Tuivasa gets the chance to prove himself against former champion Andrei Arlovski.
UFC 221: Tai Tuivasa – “I Train Hard To Make It Look That Easy” https://t.co/hgY1UzLMRv
— John Moore (@OneSelfDefense) 1 March 2018
Rashad Evans is still going around and will fight Anthony Smith, while Ricardo Lamas fights Mirsad Bektic at the top of the Fight Pass prelims.
Getting the night started is Mike Santiago’s bout with Dan Inge before Rashad Coulter fights Allen Crowder.
For those playing along at home, there are six current or former UFC champions on the card, with Whittaker, Dos Anjos, Holm, Esparza, Arlovski and Evans.
What are Whittaker and Romero fighting for?
Whittaker and Romero will be throwing down for the UFC middleweight title.
The weight class has a limit of 185-pounds, which is 83.91kg.
Robert Whittaker’s record
Whittaker is 10-2 in the UFC, and 19-4 as a professional.
The Aussie has the longest active win streak in the middleweight division with seven. He is unbeaten at 185-pounds since moving up from welterweight in 2014.
Yoel Romero’s record
Romero is 9-1 in the UFC and is 13-2 in MMA as a professional. Prior to taking up MMA full time, Romero had years of experience as a high level wrestler.
When was Robert Whittaker’s last loss?
Whittaker’s last loss was a first round TKO defeat to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at UFC 170 in February 2014. Whittaker was still fighting at welterweight at the time, severely draining his body to make the 170-pound limit. Thompson went on to fight for the 170-pound title twice.
When was Romero’s last loss?
Funny you ask…Romero’s last defeat was to Whittaker at UFC 213 last July.
After winning the first two rounds, Romero couldn’t keep up the pace, with Whittaker storming back to claim the final three frames and earn a unanimous decision win.
Robert Whittaker at the Commonwealth Games
Whittaker was selected to represent Australia in wrestling at the recent Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, but was forced to pull out to focus on his title defence.
“I really wanted to represent Australia and I really wanted to go to the Games,” he told Sporting News in March.
“But it is what it is. MMA and the UFC is my priority, it’s what pays the bills, it’s what I’m good at. So it wasn’t even really a choice.
“If the consequences weren’t so dire, I’d have definitely fought, but at this point, the consequences are real and the risks are too great.
“I feel I have a responsibility to make the belt a priority, and it also pays the bills. I have to do that.”
Yoel Romero at the Sydney Olympics
Romero is a legit wrestler as well. Probably one of the best in the UFC.
Way back at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, he won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling.
Here’s a clip of the gold medal match against Russia’s Adam Saitiev.
Who did Robert Whittaker beat to become UFC champion?
It’s complicated, but here we go…
Whittaker defeated Romero last June in an interim title fight at UFC 213 in Las Vegas. Michael Bisping was the full champion, but was injured at the time.
At UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden last November, Bisping lost the title to Georges St-Pierre. Easy enough so far, right…
Whittaker was all set to fight St-Pierre and unify the division, but – just weeks after beating Bisping – the Canadian announced he was vacating the title.
With GSP’s departure, Whittaker was promoted to full champion.
Simples. But, stay tuned. The wild ride has just begun.
Why does Romero get a title shot?
Whittaker was scheduled to make his first title defence against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 in Perth in February. A month before the bout, Whittaker was forced out through injury and the impending birth of his daughter.
In his absence, Romero stepped in to fight Rockhold in an interim title fight.
That was all going swimmingly until Romero missed weight by a whopping three pounds the day before the fight.
After a few hours of negotiations, Rockhold agreed to fight Romero anyway. The only catch was that the Cuban was ineligible to claim the interim belt if he won, because he missed weight.
And that’s exactly what happened. Romero earned a brutal third-round KO of Rockhold to give himself another crack at UFC gold.
Ok, I think we’ve caught up.
http://www.sportingnews.com/au/mma/news/ufc-225-robert-whittaker-vs-yoel-romero-middleweight-title-fight-when-where-and-how-to-watch-live/stncrh8gh92c1fy3mhmk3jbvw