UFC 205: Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero preview

Chris Weidman is coming off of a huge loss to Luke Rockhold in a fight that saw him lose his UFC Middleweight Title. Yoel Romero, on the other hand is 7-0 in the UFC and hasn’t tasted defeat since he lost a Strikeforce bout to Rafael Cavalcante back in 2011. The winner of this fight likely leaps to the top of the Michael Bisping sweepstakes and the loser, will have to wait for things to shake out.

Chris Weidman is a very skilled fighter. He has power in his hands, and has better boxing than most believe. He has wins over Anderson Silva (twice), Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida and Demian Maia among others. He is trained by Ray Longo, and Matt Serra so it stands to reason he has a very solid grappling game. He has good submissions, and very good wrestling, and isn’t afraid to stand and trade either. He’s a former World Champion and should be carrying a lot of excitement fighting at home in New York.

Yoel Romero is an absolute beast. He has heavy hands, good wrestling and is just unreasonably strong. However, his cardio at times has been a question mark and if this fight goes deep, he’ll certainly be tested in that capacity. What makes Yoel so dominant is his heavy hands, and his ability to stay active and pressure a fighter. He has a good chin, and should be ready and willing to exchange hands with Weidman.

Man, this is a great fight. Both guys have the ability to close the show, and both will need to fight smart and not let themselves get carried into the other guy’s game plan. The thing I believe separates the two fighters, is Chris Weidman just seems a sharper fighter, and I think holds the advantage on the mat. Fights start standing, but usually at some point reach the ground. Chris will have to avoid Yoel’s ground and pound, but I feel he might be able to fish out a submission on the ground.

This is a pick em in my honest opinion, but if I am pressed to make a selection I’d go with Chris Weidman via 4th Round Submission.