Robert Whittaker gets the judges’ nod over Yoel Romero
Following Yoel Romero’s issues making weight, it wasn’t the UFC middleweight title fight initially billed. However, that did not detract from an unbelievable back-and-forth rematch between champion Whittaker and Cuba’s Romero.
Whittaker stole a march early in the fight, picking a hesitant Romero apart with lead kick legs and a piston-like jab which resulted in Romero’s right eye swelling, restricting his sight. But Romero, wise to conserve his energy, was lying in wait to unleash a torrent of heavy strikes to send Whittaker reeling in the later rounds.
Romero knocked Whittaker down in the third and fifth rounds with big punches, while he also had the Australian hurt in round four. But Whittaker showed a lot of toughness to withstand the Cuban’s heavy pressure on each occasion.
The fight could have gone either way, though that depended on the judges scoring certain rounds 10-8 in favour of Romero in the third and fifth rounds or not. But it was the champion Whittaker who took home the decision win in this five-round war, making it two wins against Romero.
Colby Covington wins interim UFC welterweight championship against Rafael dos Anjos
Colby Covington’s pressure proved too much for former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos as he won the interim welterweight title by unanimous decision.
Covington showed little respect for dos Anjos’ striking, consistently marching down his Brazilian foe to get his back against the cage to try and earn the takedown or rough him up in the clinch.
When the two met in the centre of the cage, Covington and RDA threw wild punches with reckless abandon, but Covington seemingly came out on top in each exchange.
Covington showed smarts in the Octagon, executing a well thought-out gameplan on his way to earning the interim UFC welterweight belt. Never one to miss an opportunity of self-promotion, Covington quickly called out champion Tyron Woodley to set up a long-awaited grudge match.
UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2 full results
Middleweight bout: Robert Whittaker (c) defeats Yoel Romero by unanimous decision after five rounds.
Welterweight interim championship bout: Colby Covington (ic) defeats Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision after five rounds.
Women’s Featherweight bout: Holly Holm defeats Megan Anderson by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Heavyweight bout: Tai Tuivasa defeats Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Welterweight bout: Mike Jackson defeats CM Punk by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Heavyweight bout: Curtis Blaydes defeats Alistair Overeem by TKO at 2:56 of round three.
Women’s Strawweight bout: Claudia Gadelha defeats Carla Esparza by split decision after three rounds.
Featherweight bout: Mirsad Bektic defeats Ricardo Lamas by split decision after three rounds.
Heavyweight bout: Chris de la Rocha defeats Rashad Coulter by TKO (punches) at 3:53 or round two.
Light Heavyweight bout: Anthony Smith defeats Rashad Evans by KO (knee) at 0:53 of round one.
Flyweight bout: Sergio Pettis defeats Joe Benavidez by split decision after three rounds.
Lightweight bout: Charles Oliveira defeats Clay Guida by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:18 of round one.
Featherweight: Dan Ige defeats Mike Santiago by TKO (punches) at 0:50 of round one.
