Apparently nobody wants a piece of Yoel Romero.
After establishing himself as one of MMA's premier knockout kings, 'Soldier of God' is ready to kickstart a new chapter in his combat sports career, signing with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
BKFC co-owner Conor McGregor announced Romero's signing, along with three other ex-UFC stars, including Thiago Santos, Aspen Ladd, and Derek Brunson, during a Champions Summit press event in Hollywood, Florida.
It was an exciting bit of news from the BKFC, though it sounds like the promotion will have its work cut out for it in regards to finding an opponent for the former UFC and Bellator title challenger.
We have a couple of guys who already turned it down, and then we just had one guy that said he would take it,” BKFC founder Dave Feldman told MMA Junkie. “We don’t know if that fight is going to happen, but I’m very excited about it – especially because he’s going to make his debut Sept. 12 here at the Hard Rock. So in Miami, where he’s from.
“And to see Yoel Romero with the gloves off, I mean, that’s a dangerous thing.
Yoel Romero Ready to Add Bare-Knuckle Boxing to His Resume
Feldman didn't divulge any other details regarding the who, but we now know that Romero will toe the line for the very first time in September, assuming everything goes according to plan.
Romero is 16-7 in his mixed martial arts career with 13 of his wins coming by way of KO/TKO. Following a seven-year run in the UFC, the Cuban bruiser put his skills to work under the Bellator banner, earning wins over Alex Polizzi, Melvin Manhoef, and Thiago Santos. Since then, the 'Soldier of God' has competed twice for Mike Perry's Dirty Boxing Championship, landing highlight-reel knockouts against Duane Crespo and Ras Hylton.
His BKFC debut will be Romero's first foray into the world of bare-knuckle boxing.