The Bottom Line: Wrong Turn

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

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It goes without saying that an organization that produces as many fights as the Ultimate Fighting Championship does is going to have to continually trim fighters from its roster. Roster turnover has been constant in the UFC for decades, and it’s not only natural but healthy. The goal should be to identify the best fighters in each weight class, and fighters prove all the time that they’re not at that level and are unlikely to ever reach it. Cards are significantly more exciting when they’re populated by fighters who seem to at least have the potential to work their way to the top over time.

As such, while UFC President Dana White’s announcement over the weekend that the promotion is likely to cut around 60 fighters before the end of the year is sad news for the athletes involved, it’s ultimately just a part of the business. Fighters who are struggling to compete at the top level are going to make way for the next generation of aspiring competitors. What’s important is that the right fighters are chosen so fans continue to get the best fights. That makes the unexpected release of one of the world’s best fighters a difficult decision to defend.

The rationalizations for Yoel Romero’s release sound decent in a bubble, but they don’t withstand scrutiny. Yes, Romero had lost four of five fights. However, all four of those losses were against the three top-ranked fighters in the division, and they were all remarkably close. The judges gave Romero collectively 38.9% of the rounds; only one of the 12 scorecards had him losing by more than one point. Three of the four were declared “Fight of the Night,” bringing the sort of excitement and drama that the UFC does everything it can to encourage. Romero is a fighter who is clearly as good as he has ever been, if not better.

Romero’s age was also cited as a reason for his release, as he is now 43. However, his age ought to cut in the opposite direction. Given his age, it’s unlikely he is going to be able to continue to compete at an elite level for years to come. That makes the time we have left to see him take on the best all the more precious. What’s the hurry to move on when every week we get cards with no one nearly as compelling as the Olympic silver medalist turned fearless knockout artist?

Perhaps part of the reason for the Romero decision is the feeling that there aren’t good matchups left for him. That’s a matter of taste but Romero-Darren Till or Romero-Jared Cannonier both sound plenty intriguing to these ears. Romero has also demonstrated interest in a move to light heavyweight, where fresh matchups abound, from Thiago Santos to Dominick Reyes. There was plenty left for Romero to do if he could continue to fight at the same level.

Instead, we may never know what Romero was capable of at the tail end of his run as a premier fighter, and that’s a shame. It’s one thing when a fighter has clearly moved past his prime, like Anderson Silva. His story feels written, regardless of whether there is an epilogue. It feels the same for Benson Henderson and Lyoto Machida, even if they’re younger. As competitive as Romero has been in recent fights against top opponents, it feels like we can still learn more about his greatness as a fighter. Those answers won’t come in One Championship.

This sometimes happens to unglamorous fighters who compete well but don’t capture the public imagination in the way they fight, like Jon Fitch or Phil Davis. It’s still a bummer when we don’t get to see just how good upper-echelon fighters like that are through continual tests, but it’s more understandable when fans are consistently gravitating towards their opponents. None of this is applicable to Romero, author of some of the most spectacular finishes you’ll ever see.

Romero is one of the biggest freaks to ever enter this sport, someone who debuted in MMA at age 32 and still became one of the best fighters in the in his late 30s. This was a world-class wrestler who rarely ever depended on his wrestling, instead looking to knock out any and all comers. This was a man with such unbelievable athleticism that it didn’t feel entirely crazy when observers speculated about his family being part of Soviet-era human experimentation. Romero has a unique personality, a unique fighting style and undeniably remains one of the world’s best middleweight fighters.

The UFC has to cut fighters, fine, but this guy, at this time, in such ignominious fashion? It’s the wrong move. It’s unfortunate for Romero, but more so, it’s just a letdown for fans of the sport that we don’t get to see whether this man, whose career defied expectation at so many points, had a few more tricks up his sleeve in the UFC.