Manager: Romero didn't break leg as feared, eyes Whittaker bout in summer

Yoel Romero appears to have dodged a bullet.

After suspecting he'd broken his leg in a victory over Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 over the weekend, the middleweight contender's manager, Malki Kawa, claimed on Twitter that was not the case Sunday morning. Romero, 40, needed to be helped out of the Octagon after dispatching Rockhold by third-round KO in Saturday's headliner and was subsequently transported to hospital for further evaluation.

Despite coming in heavy at the previous day's weigh-ins and being ineligible to claim the interim title originally at stake for both himself and Rockhold as a result, Romero is expected to challenge reigning champ Robert Whittaker in a rematch next.

Whittaker has set his sights on a summer return after a variety of afflictions kept him from facing Rockhold on the bill, and with Romero leaving Australia with only a deep bruise on his shin, those designs may come to fruition. The pair first clashed last July at UFC 213, where Whittaker edged Romero by unanimous decision to claim an interim crown.