Hermansson on Adesanya-Romero: 'You can blame both for that fight'

Middleweight contender Jack Hermansson didn't feel Yoel Romero deserved his title shot against Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 in March, and he holds both fighters responsible for the disappointing result.

"I kind of expected it, but I wasn't too happy about it," Hermansson told theScore. "I really didn't think that was deserved. You should come from a (winning) streak if you're going into a title shot. As you mentioned, (Jared) Cannonier was probably a guy that deserved it more in that situation."

Hermansson (20-5) nearly fought for the middleweight title himself before losing to fellow contender Cannonier at UFC Norway in September. Romero faced Adesanya instead of Cannonier for the middleweight title at UFC 248 despite coming off two losses.

Adesanya successfully defended his middleweight title over Romero, but the performance from both fighters was widely criticized. Hermansson agreed with those criticisms of the championship bout.

"You can blame both guys for that fight," Hermansson said. "But, you know, Romero getting in there for his third title shot and he probably didn't even deserve it this time. I think it's up to him to really go for it if you want that gold and he didn't. Nothing more to it."

Watch the full video interview with Hermansson below (36:24 mark) and subscribe to theScoreMMA YouTube channel here.