Watch UFC 213's Yoel Romero make his UFC and middleweight debut in devastating fashion

When Yoel Romero came to the UFC, there were a lot of question marks about his future.

The Olympic silver medalist was coming off the first loss of his career, as well as a scary neck injury that kept him out of action for more than a year and a half. Just six fights in, he was highly touted, for sure. But making his UFC debut, there were some unknowns.

Romero answered those questions in a hurry by taking Clifford Starks in just 92 seconds. The fight was not only his first in the UFC, but his first at middleweight. It earned him a “Knockout of the Night” bonus.

Since then, the Cuban hasn’t looked back. He has won all his UFC fights, putting Romero (12-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) at 8-0 in the promotion ahead of the biggest bout of his career on Saturday when he meets Robert Whittaker (18-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC). The two meet in the UFC 213 co-main event for the interim middleweight title and a chance to move on to a title unification fight against champ Michael Bisping.

During his eight-fight winning streak, Romero has five fight-night bonuses and six knockouts. His resume also includes a win over former middleweight champ Chris Weidman by devastating knockout this past November at UFC 205 in front of Weidman’s home New York crowd.

Ahead of UFC 213, check out Romero’s quick win over Starks – the only first-round finish on his UFC resume. Then don’t miss UFC 213, which takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

For more on UFC 213, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.