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    Mark Palmer •

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    Olympic medalist Romero falls to Whittaker at UFC 213

    Yoel Romero, world-class wrestler who won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics, lost a unanimous decision to Robert Whittaker in the headline event at UFC 213 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night.

    All judges scored the five-round bout 48-47 for Whittaker, who now holds the UFC interim middleweight (185-pound) title.

    Yoel Romero
    Multiple media reports indicate that the 40-year-old Cuban native was in control in the first two rounds, appearing to have injured Whittaker's left knee with a series of side kicks in the first round, then using his wrestling expertise in the second. "All his work came at a price," reported Sherdog.com. "Romero's pace slowed to a crawl over the third, fourth and fifth rounds, his muscle-bound frame starved for oxygen. Even wounded, Whittaker managed to capitalize. He ripped into Romero with a punishing jab, mean left hooks upstairs and front kicks to the body."

    According to MMAFighting.com, "When Romero got him to the mat, Whittaker popped back to his feet each time. He picked up the pace in the third and began throwing frequent kicks with his right leg. This threw off Romero's timing, and Whittaker picked up the pace over the third and fourth rounds."

    In the fifth round, Whittaker knocked down Romero, then took top position, wearing down the Olympian with strikes.

    After the bout, the two combatants offered their analysis of the action.

    Referring to his injured knee, Whittaker said, "It definitely was impacting my game. I was trying to establish the jab. It was pretty bad, but champions are made of this stuff."
    "I think he's the champ," Whittaker added. "I think he's a veteran and tough and a champ for a reason."

    "It was very close," Romero said. "But he won the fight. It happens for a reason."

    With the win, Whittaker -- a 26-year-old from New Zealand -- not only claimed the interim middleweight title, but earned his eighth straight victory to compile a 19-4-0 pro MMA record ... while Romero, who was on an eight-match win streak, is now 13-2-0 overall.

    Prior to launching his MMA career in December 2008, Yoel Romero was one of the most powerful freestyle wrestlers in his weight class. The chiseled Cuban was a two-time Olympian, winning the silver at the 2000 Sydney Games (losing to Adam Saitev in the finals), and placing fourth in Athens in 2004. During his freestyle career, Romero defeated three different Olympic gold medal winners, and five different world champions. Among those he beat: Cael Sanderson and Les Gutches.
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