Romero edges 'Jacare' via razor-thin split decision
It was a tale of two fights.
Yoel Romero dominated the opening half of his bout with Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza at UFC 194 on Saturday night, while Jacare took control in the second half.
After a scintillating spinning back fist sent Jacare careening to the canvas in the first round, Romero wasn't able to close the deal with the ensuing ground-and-pound. Some way, some how, Jacare emerged on the other side of Romero's clubbing blows.
The second round was a bit of a toss up, as nether fighter put in much work, but the third stanza was all Jacare. The Brazilian hurt Romero with a heavy combination along the fence, and then dragged the bout to the floor with a double leg. Once there, Jacare was in complete control, unleashing heavy elbows to a prone Romero, who was just trying to make it to the end of the fight.
With the result very much in the air, two of three judges awarded Romero the victory, and he'll likely be the next middleweight title challenger.
Romero: I have big respect for Jacare. I punched him hard in the face, but he continued.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) December 13, 2015
You sure did, Yoel.