UFC 194 results: Yoel Romero decisions Ronaldo Souza in back-and-forth battle

Yoel Romero

LAS VEGAS – In a high-quality MMA battle that may well determine the next challenger for the middleweight championship, Yoel Romero outlasted Ronaldo Souza to win a split decision.

The middleweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 194 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The two men traded hard body kicks to open the fight but it was Souza who landed a straight right hand that was the first clean shot of the round. Souza continued to come forward, digging to the body with punches while forcing Romero to fight off his back foot.

Romero (11-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) connected with a lunging left hand and circled away to avoid any return fire. Romero connected hard with a massive spinning back-fist that dropped Souza (22-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC). Somehow, “Jacare” immediately began waiving at Romero and inviting him to join him on the round. Romero obliged and began to land a series of heavy punches while Souza fished for submissions. Souza almost locked up an armbar while Romero dropped heavy elbows, but couldn’t complete the submission.

At the conclusion of the opening round, Souza had to be helped back to his corner as he was on wobbly legs.

Round 2 opened with Romero looking light on his feet, pawing with strikes while Souza got his legs back and began walking forward. Souza shot for a takedown and Romero defended by grabbing the fence and reversing into his own throw. That resulted in the referee Marc Goddard standing the fighters up and issuing a strong warning to Romero for violating the rules.

Romero connected with a heavy inside leg kick which was the last meaningful action of Round 2.

Romero looked badly fatigued in the corner before the start of Round 3, but still landed crisp strikes early in the frame.

Romero defended against a takedown attempt from Souza and immediately went back to chopping at the leg with heavy kicks. Souza pushed Romero to the cage and landed a series of heavy punches, suddenly coming alive in the clutch. As Romero was defending the strikes, Souza completed a takedown on the Olympic silver medalist. Souza began pouring on strikes from top position, grinding away with heavy elbows to the face and knees to the body.

Romero managed to scramble to his feet with 15 seconds left in the fight but did nothing before the end of the round.

The incredibly close back-and-forth battle went to the judges’ scorecards with Romero taking the split decision by scores of 29-27, 28-29, 29-28.

The loss snapped Souza’s eight-fight winning streak while Romero has won seven straight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 194 results include:

• Yoel Romero def. Ronaldo Souza via split decision (29-27, 28-29, 29-28)
• Demian Maia def. Gunnar Nelson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)
• Max Holloway def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Urijah Faber def. Frankie Saenz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Tecia Torres def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Warlley Alves def. Colby Covington via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:26
• Leonardo Santos def. Kevin Lee via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:26
• Magomed Mustafaev def. Joe Proctor via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:54
• Yancy Medeiros def. John Makdessi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Court McGee def. Marcio Alexandre Jr. vs. via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC 194, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)