When UFC President Dana White announced in January that Yoel Romero would be challenging middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at Saturday's UFC 248 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, an immediate and collective groan could be heard through social media among MMA fans.
"I never get anybody calling me and saying, 'Hey Dana, I want to fight Yoel Romero,'" White said to Yahoo Sports. "When do you ever hear a guy call him out? It doesn't happen. Guys wind up fighting him because the rankings dictate it or whatever, but no one is volunteering for that. [Adesanya] just kept blowing up my phone: 'I want Romero. I want Romero. I want Romero.' I respect that. You want to fight a guy like that, I respect it, and so we made it happen."
But fans were in an uproar because Romero has lost back-to-back fights, three of his last four, and UFC 248 will be his fourth scheduled title shot. If he makes weight on Friday morning, though, it will be only the second time that Romero has competed for the championship. He lost a narrow decision to Robert Whittaker for the interim belt at UFC 213. Then he was set to battle Luke Rockhold for the interim title but missed weight at UFC 221 by 2.7 pounds. After knocking out the former middleweight titleholder, Romero earned another shot at the gold when he faced Whittaker at UFC 225. But Romero lost the battle to the scale by coming in. 2 pounds over the 185-pound limit for championship bouts and ended up losing to Whittaker in a non-title affair via split-decision in one of the most exciting contests in 2018.
Romero (13-4) has heard the criticism from every which way heading into UFC 248. How does he block out the noise from people who don't believe he's deserving of the opportunity, even though he has left his blood, sweat, and tears inside the octagon every time the door closes behind him?
"Because the difference is they don't believe, and they don't have faith while I'm a man who believes in faith," Romero explained to DAZN News. "They have to believe, and they have to have faith because I have faith. That's what differentiates me from those who don't believe. Faith moves mountains."
One of the more significant questions heading into UFC 248 is whether the 2000 Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling can successfully make weight on Friday morning for the official weigh-in starting at 9 a.m. local time. Romero conducted a media luncheon on Monday and said he weighed 198 pounds. When asked if he'd definitely hit the championship mark of 185, he wouldn't say "yes," which has left people wondering if he'll tip the scales successfully.
Romero could care less about what others are thinking. The 42-year-old powerhouse knows when push comes to shove, he'll make 185 pounds come Friday morning and face the undefeated Adesanya (18-0) for the middleweight championship.
"That's what they think, but it really doesn't matter much because I know I'm going to make weight," Romero said. "Do you think I have time to think about that? I don't concern myself with that. I know I'm going to make weight."