Yoel Romero Record, Stats & Next Fight

UFC fight history

Res	Opponent	Outcome	Finish	Rd	Time	Event	Date
L	CIsrael AdesanyaTitle Middleweight	Decision	Unanimous	R5	5:00	UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero	Mar 7, 2020
L	#7Paulo Costa Middleweight	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	UFC 241: Cormier vs. Miocic 2	Aug 17, 2019
L	CRobert Whittaker Middleweight	Decision	Split	R5	5:00	UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2	Jun 9, 2018
W	#2Luke Rockhold Middleweight	KO/TKO	Punch to Head At Distance	R3	1:48	UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold	Feb 10, 2018
L	#3Robert WhittakerTitle Middleweight	Decision	Unanimous	R5	5:00	UFC 213: Romero vs. Whittaker	Jul 8, 2017
W	#2Chris Weidman Middleweight	KO/TKO	Flying Knee Head	R3	0:24	UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor	Nov 12, 2016
W	#2Jacare Souza Middleweight	Decision	Split	R3	5:00	UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor	Dec 12, 2015
W	#4Lyoto Machida Middleweight	KO/TKO	Elbows to Head From Half Guard	R3	1:38	UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero	Jun 27, 2015
W	#6Tim Kennedy Middleweight	KO/TKO	Punch to Head In Clinch	R3	0:58	UFC 178: Johnson vs. Cariaso	Sep 27, 2014
W	#13Brad Tavares Middleweight	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	UFC on FOX: Werdum vs. Browne	Apr 19, 2014
W	Derek Brunson Middleweight	KO/TKO	Elbows to Body On Ground	R3	3:23	UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Philippou	Jan 15, 2014
W	Ronny Markes Middleweight	KO/TKO	Punch to Head In Clinch	R3	1:39	UFC Fight Night: Fight for the Troops 3	Nov 6, 2013
W	Clifford Starks Middleweight	KO/TKO	Flying Knee Head	R1	1:32	UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Melendez	Apr 20, 2013

Outside the UFC

8-3across 11 bouts · 7 promotions · wins by 7 KO · 1 decBellator · FOTN · GFC 10 · PFL · Strikeforce +2

Res	Opponent	Outcome	Finish	Rd	Time	Promotion	Date
W	Alex Nicholson19-14	KO/TKO	Submission to Punches	R1	1:11	GFC 10	May 1, 2026
W	Thiago Santos23-13	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	PFL	Feb 24, 2024
L	Vadim Nemkov20-2	Decision	Unanimous	R5	5:00	Bellator	Jun 16, 2023
W	Melvin Manhoef32-17-1	KO/TKO	Elbows	R3	3:34	Bellator	Sep 23, 2022
W	Alex Polizzi11-7	KO/TKO	Punches	R3	4:59	Bellator	May 6, 2022
L	Phil Davis25-8	Decision	Split	R3	5:00	Bellator	Sep 18, 2021
L	Rafael Cavalcante13-7	KO/TKO	Punches	R2	4:51	Strikeforce	Sep 10, 2011
W	Laszlo Eck0-1	KO/TKO	Punch	R1	0:33	FOTN	May 27, 2011
W	Nikita Petrovs7-5-1	KO/TKO	Retirement	R1	2:58	SFC 4	Mar 5, 2011
W	Michal Fijalka16-7-1	KO/TKO	Retirement	R3	4:05	IFF	Oct 8, 2010
W	Sascha Weinpolter14-5-1	KO/TKO	Punches	R1	0:48	FOTN	Dec 20, 2009

Non-UFC bouts (regional/other promotions) and Dana White’s Contender Series — shown for context only, excluded from Schedule Score, striking/grappling rates, and every UFC-scoped metric.

Method of victory & defeat

KO / TKO

14 wins, 1 loss

W14

L1

Submission

0 wins, 0 losses

W0

L0

Decision

3 wins, 6 losses

W3

L6

Finishes

UFC KOs

7

Above avg · 16%Light Heavyweight

Knockdowns / fight

0.77

Above avg · 0.26Light Heavyweight

UFC submissions

0

Below avg · 8%Light Heavyweight

Submission attempts / fight

0.00

Below avg · 0.26Light Heavyweight

KO history

Knockout power and chin durability (UFC; clean KOs only).

Yoel Romero

PowerChin

Knockout rate

54%

7 KO/TKO wins

Knockdowns dealt

10

2.48 per 100 head

Clean KO losses

0

cuts / injury TKOs excluded

Knockdowns absorbed

1

0.35 per 100 head

Chin gauges use a league scale: green = clean record, red = bottom ~10% of UFC fighters (4+ KO losses · 6+ knockdowns absorbed).

Never finished by strikes · Never submittedin the UFC

Decision behavior

Judging

4 scorecards on file

Yoel Romero

Scorecard luck

Cards have leaned their way

Won 1 of 1 coin-flip decision — the kind of close calls that have tended to fall their way. Judges have given them 2 of 2 rounds they disagreed on (100%).

Coin-flip decisions

Split + majority

1–0

Won – Lost

Swing rounds

Judges disagreed

2–0

Won – Lost

100% went their way

Unanimous3 decisions · 75%

1W2L

Split1 decision · 25%

1W

Majority

None

10-8 rounds

1 round total

1

Won

0

Lost

Most frequent judges

All judges →

Scorecard data ingested from MMA Decisions

Career striking

OverallA71st

49%667 / 1,352

Striking accuracy

60%

Striking defense

Sig. strikes / min+0.39 differential

Landed3.44

Absorbed3.05

69%str + td

Defensive rating

Striking edge

+9%accuracy vs opp. landing

worseevenbetter

Strike maps

Sig. strikes by target

Head60%57th403
Body18%55th119
Leg22%71st145

Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes

Sig. strikes by position

73%Standing

Standing73%487
Clinch12%80
Ground15%100

Striking zones

Per-15-minute breakdown — where this fighter lands, and where they get hit.

UFC only

Yoel Romero

Landed per 15

Head

C

56th

31.6

56th

Body

C

54th

9.3

54th

Leg

A

72nd

11.4

72nd

Ranks are division percentiles — e.g. 90th = top 10% of the weight class. Higher is always better: on “absorbed” rows the rank is inverted, so a high rank means they get hit less.

Absorbed per 15

Head

A

79th

22.4

79th

Body

D

32nd

12.4

32nd

Leg

F

22nd

11.9

22nd

Ranks are division percentiles — e.g. 90th = top 10% of the weight class. Higher is always better: on “absorbed” rows the rank is inverted, so a high rank means they get hit less.

Career totals — landed / attempted

Landed (career total)

Zone	Per 15	Landed	Attempted	Accuracy
Head	31.6	403	984	41%
Body	9.3	119	180	66%
Leg	11.4	145	188	77%

Absorbed (career total)

Zone	Per 15	Landed	Attempted	Accuracy
Head	22.4	286	1,037	28%
Body	12.4	158	282	56%
Leg	11.9	152	198	77%

UFCStats career rates, per 15 minutes. Percentiles vs the division; absorbed is inverted so higher is better.

Grappling

Per-15-minute breakdown of takedowns, submissions, and ground control.

UFC only

Yoel Romero

33%

Takedown accuracy

81%

Takedown defense

Control / 15 min+1.1 min net

On top1.9

On bottom0.8

Offense

Takedowns

B

69th

1.6

69th

TD accuracy

C

51st

33%

51st

Sub attempts

C

52nd

0.0

52nd

Control

C

45th

1.9 min

45th

Defense

TD defense

A

70th

81%

70th

Controlled

0.8 min

Career totals — landed / attempted, control time

Offense

Takedowns	21 / 63
Submission attempts	0
Control time	24:30

Defense

TDs defended	29 / 36
Control absorbed	10:09

Rates above are per 15 minutes of UFC fight time (191min total). Value colors reflect the per-15 rate’s percentile against the current weight class baseline; raw totals without a division reference stay neutral.

Pace & fade

Round-by-round work rate, and whether they fade.

UFC only

Yoel Romero

13 UFC bouts (per‑round) · 191 min

182%

R3 pace · 12 bouts

Romero builds (+3% per round through round 5). Within fights that reached round 3, Romero lifts to 182% of round-1 output by round 3 (12 bouts).

Romero ▲ BUILDSOutput / min

Rounds backed by fewer than 2 bouts are drawn smaller and dimmed with an n= count — a deep round seen in one or two fights is a thin sample, not a settled rate. Per-round bout counts are in the breakdown below.

Full per-round breakdown

What drives the pace · per round

The composite output line above blends these three inputs — splitting them out shows whether the work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control, and which input fades.

Sig. strikes landed

Romerolanded / min

Takedown attempts

Romeroattempts / min

Control time

Romero% of round

Round	Output / min	Sig landed / min	Sig absorbed / min	TD att / min	Control	Bouts
R1	4.1	2.9	2.4	0.26	9%	13
R2	4.7	2.9	2.9	0.38	16%	12
R3	7.1	5.6	3.7	0.33	15%	12
R4	3.7	2.2	4.3	0.40	7%	3
R5	5.4	3.9	3.8	0.33	14%	3

Output / minis the headline work rate — significant strikes landed, plus 3 per takedown attempt, plus one per 15 seconds of control — so a takedown-and-grind round isn’t scored as idle the way bare striking volume would. The remaining columns are its components. Per-round rates use UFCStats per-round data (available for ~95% of bouts since 2008). Each round’s rates are averaged only over bouts that reached that round, so the bout count shrinks as rounds deepen. The final round of a finished fight is pro-rated by its actual length.

Schedule Score

Opponent quality, ranked across the UFC. Recent fights weighted heavier.

UFC only

Yoel Romero

13 resolved UFC bouts · 10 ranked at the time

Schedule Score

85/ 100

0255075100

Schedule strength

A+

99th

84%

99th

Win quality

A+

94th

64%

94th

Opponent quality distribution

Every UFC bout, grouped by who the opponent was at the time.

5

1

ChampionHeld the title in this weight class at the time
Top-5Ranked #1–#5 at the time
Top-15Ranked #6–#15 at the time
Building3+ UFC fights, ≥.40 win rate
UnprovenFewer than 3 fights, or sub-.40 win rate

Tier	Bouts	Record	Win rate
Champion	5	2-3	40%
Top-5	5	4-1	80%
Top-15	1	1-0	100%
Building	1	1-0	100%
Unproven	1	1-0	100%

Highest-quality opponents

Toughest opponents on the scheduleScore, scored at the time of the fight.

All bouts — opponent quality bout-by-bout

Res	Opponent	Tier	Score	Date
L	Israel AdesanyaCHAMP	Champion	100	Mar 7, 2020
L	Paulo Costa#7	Top-5	82	Aug 17, 2019
L	Robert WhittakerCHAMP	Champion	100	Jun 9, 2018
W	Luke Rockhold#2	Champion	96	Feb 10, 2018
L	Robert Whittaker#3	Champion	94	Jul 8, 2017
W	Chris Weidman#2	Champion	96	Nov 12, 2016
W	Jacare Souza#2	Top-5	89	Dec 12, 2015
W	Lyoto Machida#4	Top-5	87	Jun 27, 2015
W	Tim Kennedy#6	Top-5	77	Sep 27, 2014
W	Brad Tavares#13	Top-15	69	Apr 19, 2014
W	Derek Brunson	Top-5	56	Jan 15, 2014
W	Ronny Markes	Building	18	Nov 6, 2013
W	Clifford Starks	Unproven	8	Apr 20, 2013

Per-bout quality scoring: champion = 100; same-division ranks 1–5 = 90 → 78 linear; ranks 6–15 = 75 → 60 linear; cross-division champion = 78; cross-division ranked = 45; title-fight challenger (no rank signal) = 50, bumped to 65 when opp had an elite career UFC record at the time. Unranked opponents are scored on UFC record-at-time (long-tenured vet 60, contender-level 45, established 30, building 18, unproven 8). P4P top-10 at time adds +5; top-3 adds +8 (capped at 100). The Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) and quality wins (35%), then is held toward a rookie baseline for fighters with limited UFC experience so a thin résumé reads honestly low.

Career cohorts

13 resolved UFC bouts

Performance broken down by situation — camp length, response to the previous result, title-fight presence, and rematches. Computed across every completed UFC bout.

Camp length

Days between fights

Short turnaround

< 100 days

2-0

2 bouts

Typical camp

100–180 days

2-1

3 bouts

Long layoff

> 180 days

4-3

7 bouts

UFC debut

first UFC bout

1-0

1 bout

Post-result bounce

Performance based on the previous UFC result

After a loss

next bout after a defeat

1-2

3 bouts

After a win

next bout after a win

7-2

9 bouts

First UFC bout

no precedent

1-0

1 bout

Title fights

Performance with a belt on the line

All title fights

as challenger or champion

0-2

2 bouts

As champion

defending the belt

—

As challenger

fighting for the belt

0-2

2 bouts

Rematches

Performance when meeting an opponent again

All rematches

any second meeting

0-1

1 bout

Revenge bouts

lost the first meeting

0-1

1 bout

Encore bouts

won the first meeting

—

Activity & layoff

Last fight, activity, and divisional context.

Time since last UFC bout

2 months

Active

0–6 mo

Normal

6–12 mo

Layoff

12–18 mo

Extended

18+ mo

Yoel Romero

Active

2 monthssince last bout

vs Alex Nicholson · May 1, 2026

DraftKings fantasy scoring

DFSAs favorite 3-1As underdog 6-3

75.1

DK avg

76.0

Median

96.0

Ceiling

63.9

Floor

31%

Boom

8%

Bust

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