UFC 213 Preview: Yoel Romero Vs Robert Whitaker
By Anthony “Zute” George
UFC 213 takes place this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The card is stacked from top to bottom, promising great fireworks on the heels of The Fourth Of July. The Co-Main Event showcases two spectacular mixed martial artists locking horns for the Interim Middleweight Championship. Michael Bisping, the true 185-pound title holder, is on the shelf with an injury; as is the tradition of the UFC, if the current champion cannot actively defend their title, a fight is created to have a temporary champion, with the hope the interim champion will meet the inactive champion at a later date.
The fighters chosen to fight for middleweight gold this Saturday are number one ranked Cuban fighter Yoel Romero, 13-1, against number three ranked Australian Robert Whittaker, 18-4. This fight is an intriguing style matchup that has even the most confident of predictors scratching their hands. Let us take a look at how this beauty of a fight stacks up.
Yoel Romero:
The Pros: All word wrestler. Like most Cuban boxers, Yoel fights in the southpaw stance and is a lethal striker with a Muy Thai background. Good counter puncher, fights at a slow deliberate pace then catches his opponent with a thudding strike. Freakish strength, when in close, has been able to rag doll top middleweights.
The Cons:
Relatively inactive, only fought once in 2016, as the USADA suspended Yoel six months for a failed drug test. Like most wrestlers, Yoel has virtually no game on his back. Once he takes a fighter down, he has not executed effectively. Tends to give away rounds in order to land a big strike.
Robert Whittaker:
The Pros:
Has been active and effective, already fought once in 2017. Great left jab, it is a stiff jab that can hurt his opponent as well as slice them up. Great overall striker who works off his left jab better than any MMA fighter today. Quicker than most middleweights, Robert is a natural welterweight who stepped up and did not lose any of his power and regained all his speed. Good chin. Stuffs takedown attempts fairly well.
The Cons:
More predictable than a slasher movie, you know he is going to come right at you and he is going to try and establish his jab. Tends to let himself get hit, his defense is his quick and unorthodox offense. No submission game whatsoever. Only appears comfortable in the center of the cage, ineffective and vulnerable against the fence. Not a natural middleweight.
When thinking about who the match up favors my head hurts. These fighters are also even in height and reach, although Whittaker presents as the longer fighter. I think Whittaker can establish distance and dominance, with his jab, against Romero. Romero’s deliberate style might be a major problem against the aggressive and accurate Australian. Romero holds his hands up high, but is vulnerable to straight strikes and front kicks. With that said, Romero’s counterpunching style is made to order for a fighter who comes right at you, I can envision Whittaker walking into a hellacious elbow.
Real estate is going to be a major factor as well in this fight. If Romero choses to stand with Whittaker, he has to try and bull him against the fence, as Whittaker has great boxing skills and controls the center of the cage better than anyone. Once is close, Romero can rag doll Whittaker and earn takedown points. With that said, Whittaker is wiry, much stronger than he looks, and not easy to take down. See what I am getting at here?
To accurately predict this fight, you have to be much smarter than me. But for the sake of putting something out there, I favor Robert Whittaker to become the Interim Middleweight Champion. His stand-up game is better, his striking is more versatile, he is younger and should be sharper since he has been so active. I am not sure if Romero’s deliberate style, where he is willing to fall behind on the scorecards to find that right moment, is the best remedy against such an active and well-rounded striker. However, if Romero does win, it will be from a powerful strike. The wildcard in this fight is cuts, both fighters can open up their opponent’s flesh with their precision strikes and elbows. As in any fight, a bad cut can be a major game changer.
Come Saturday night all speculation will end. Romero and Whittaker have both earned this moment by working hard and winning fights they that they were underdogs in. Both fighters are hungry and feed off their confidence in their abilities. But only one fighter can win, unless we get an improbable draw. While a draw would be ideal it would not shock me. The only thing that would shock me in this fight is if it ended in a submission. Is it Saturday yet?
Win an autographed copy of Mike Tyson’s autobiography “UNDISPUTED TRUTH” by clicking HERE and subscribing to be entered to win this great prize along with any future ones!
[si-contact-form form=’2′]