Yoel Romero earned his biggest win to date by defeating Tim Kennedy, but it comes with something of an asterisk.
After two back-and-forth rounds, Romero found himself on wobbly legs from a series of uppercuts from Kennedy. Romero's corner controversially left Romero's stool in the cage in order to buy him extra time to recover. The move paid dividends as Romero scored a devastating knockout shortly thereafter.
While it's an unfortunate turn for Kennedy, UFC is more than happy to welcome the heavy-handed Cuban into the middleweight title picture. So who could we end up seeing Romero face next, then? Find out right here!
Thales Leites
Last week, I discussed the awkward situation that Mark Hunt finds himself in from a matchmaking perspective. Romero, unfortunately, is in the same spot.
Set to jump up a few places in the rankings, Romero will soon find few opponents who can advance him toward a title shot. Almost everyone who can happens to have somebody else on their plate. Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort all, hypothetically, would be valid opponents for Romero but alas, are all occupied at the moment. In these sorts of situations, concessions need to be made and the rankings need to be overlooked.
Enter Thales Leites. Leites, a former middleweight title contender, is riding an impressive four-fight winning streak and has tapped into a deep, previously undiscovered well of power in his striking game. While Leites currently sits at No. 12 in UFC's official rankings, a fight with Romero is easy to justify because of how good he has been of late.
Gegard Mousasi
In the same vein as Thales Leites, Gegard Mousasi is a fighter who isn't an ideal choice to face Romero but is one of the best options available. Mouasasi is actually 1-2 as a middleweight and is coming off a rough submission loss to Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. In spite of his recent struggles, he remains a brand-name fighter and a credible opponent for almost anyone in the division.
Stylistically, this is a tantalizing matchup. Mousasi's kickboxing base is complemented by a strong grappling game that can keep him competitive with almost anyone. However, Romero's raw physical power and Olympic wrestling skills make for an intriguing stylistic contrast.
Ronaldo Souza
When the new rankings come in later this week, Romero will probably sit somewhere around the No. 6 spot. The only fighter who will be ranked above him at that point who doesn't have a fight lined up is Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.
With his Fight Night 50 win over Gegard Mousasi, his stellar seven-fight winning streak and the announcement that Luke Rockhold (the last man to beat him) was set to face Michael Bisping, it seemed as though a title shot was essentially a guarantee for Souza. Unfortunately for him, Chris Weidman's withdrawal from his scheduled UFC 181 showdown with Vitor Belfort has left him in a position where he would have to sit out a long while with no actual guarantee of getting the fight.
That in mind, a fight with Romero would not be a bad choice for him, and would allow him to stay in the limelight while avoiding potential unfavorable stylistic matchups with fighters like Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold. For Romero, this obviously allows him to vault into possible top contender status with one more win.
