Yoel Romero’s Bellator Debut is Being Postponed

• Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson were scheduled to compete at 205 pounds on May 7.
• Romero was unable to receive a fighting license after failing his pre-fight medical checks.
• Reports have confirmed that Yoel Romero’s Bellator debut is being pushed back.

For months, MMA fans around the world have been looking forward to seeing Yoel Romero compete in Bellator MMA. The promotion matched him up perfectly against a fellow knockout artist, Anthony Johnson. Unfortunately, reports have confirmed that Yoel Romero’s Bellator debut has been postponed.

It appears “The Soldier of God” was unable to pass the pre-fight medical checks for that bout. What exactly forced him from this event is unknown. Today, we’ll discuss what this means for the Bellator light-heavyweight tournament moving forward.

Let’s check it out!

The First Few Rounds of Bellator’s 205-Pound Tournament are Complete

It’s been an exciting past few years for Bellator MMA. The promotion has planned to have a successful year and is now putting on stacked events on a regular basis. Most are excited to see how Bellator’s light-heavyweight tournament will play out.

Several of the first-round bouts have already wrapped up. It’s been incredible to see how elite the fighters in this tournament truly are. Corey Anderson looked incredible by scoring a third-round TKO over the highly-touted Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov.

Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader avenged one of his early career losses by scoring a unanimous decision win over Lyoto Machida. There were some early scares in the bout with Lyoto landing several hard strikes. Bader’s wrestling game took over as the fight went on and he proved the online sports betting sites that listed him as the favorite to be correct.

Most recently, Bellator’s light-heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov defeated former UFC star Phil Davis via unanimous decision. Nemkov is under the tutelage of Fedor Emelianenko and is one of the favorites to win this tournament. He was originally scheduled to take on the winner of the May 7 bout between Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson.

Most fans felt this was the most exciting bout of the entire tournament. Romero and Johnson are both known for being tremendous knockout artists. Just about everyone felt that their bout would end up finishing before the final bell.

To the disappointment of fans everywhere, this fight is no longer taking place. Here’s what we know about this situation.

Here’s Why Yoel Romero’s Bellator Debut is Being Pushed Back

Over the past decade, Yoel Romero has made a name as one of MMA’s scariest fighters. He is unusually athletic and uses that athleticism to score unbelievable wins over his opponents. Even at 44 years old, he is capable of beating most fighters in his weight class.

After losing a title fight to Israel Adesanya in March of 2020, news broke that Romero had parted ways with the UFC. He was quickly picked up by Bellator to compete in the promotion’s light-heavyweight tournament. Yoel got matched up with Anthony Johnson, another man known for his incredible one-punch knockout power.

These two men have been scheduled to compete on May 7. That is no longer the case. Yoel Romero’s Bellator debut is being pushed back, as he failed to pass the pre-fight medical checks that Bellator routinely does before fights. The promotion gave a statement on this situation to the media this week.

“Yoel Romero did not pass his pre-fight medical testing and as a result, his BELLATOR MMA debut against Anthony “Rumble” Johnson has been postponed,” the statement said. “BELLATOR will confirm a tournament alternate to face “Rumble” Johnson in the Light-Heavyweight World Grand Prix as soon as possible… Romero will become eligible to reapply for clearance to compete in the coming months, and we look forward to seeing him make his BELLATOR debut in the near future.”

Obviously, fans are extremely disappointed to hear that Romero will be unable to compete. He’s a true superstar in MMA and some felt he would end up in the tournament finals. It’s great news to hear that Anthony Johnson will be given a replacement opponent, though.

MMA fans will need to wait a little longer to see Yoel Romero’s Bellator debut. We’ll be sure to offer more updates on this situation over the next few months!

The UFC’s Next Light-Heavyweight Title Fight Has Been Confirmed

The 205-pound weight class in MMA has always been exciting. It’s here that fighters like Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans, and Jon Jones made their mark in the sport. Both the UFC and Bellator now have world-class fighters competing in their light-heavyweight tournaments.

Jon Jones ruled over the light-heavyweight division for many years. After a win over Dominick Reyes last year, he decided to make the move to the heavyweight division. He is now working to put on weight in order to compete with the champion, Francis Ngannou.

Jan Blachowicz is now the champion at 205 pounds. He proved himself to be among the best fighters in the world recently by defeating Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision. On September 4th, the Polish striker will look to earn another title defense over the surging Glover Teixeira.

BetOnline is the best place to bet on this matchup. At the moment, this site lists the champion as the -250 favorite. Jan is extremely durable and always comes into fights with excellent game plans. He will likely have a large striking advantage over Glover in this fight.

Teixeira has seen it all in his career. He is about as tough as a fighter comes and is now riding a five-fight win streak heading into this title fight. It won’t be easy, but he can end up winning this bout. BetOnline has the Brazilian listed as the +210 underdog.

Are you disappointed to hear that Yoel Romero’s Bellator debut has been postponed? Who should Anthony Johnson fight next? Let us know in the comments section below.