- 5/3/2025
Yoel Romero Vs Israel Adesanya Full Highlights.
Yoel Romero Vs Israel Adesanya Full Highlights.
#ufc #israel #romero #boxing
Yoel Romero Vs Israel Adesanya Full Highlights.
#ufc #israel #romero #boxing
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SportsTranscript
00:00Romero will be 43 next month, Adesanya the taller man by four inches, both fighters making championship weight, six and a half inch reach advantage, resides with the last style bender, Israel Adesanya. Now, here's Bruce Bump.
00:14Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event of the evening, sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Chairman Anthony Marnell Jr., Executive Director Bob Bennett.
00:34Our three judges scoring this contest at Octagon Side are, Sal Diabato, Chris Lee, and Ron McCarthy. And when the action begins, our referee in charge of the Octagon, Dan Bergliotta.
00:47This championship bout is sponsored by P3, the official protein snack of the UFC. And Universal Pictures, The Hunt, in theaters March 13th.
00:58And now, for those in attendance and UFC fans watching around the world, this is the moment you've all been waiting for.
01:19Live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, it's time for the undisputed UFC middleweight championship of the world.
01:48Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, a mixed martial artist holding a professional record, 13 wins, 4 losses.
01:58He stands, 6 feet tall, weighed in at 185 pounds.
02:02Fighting out of Coquitaine, Florida, by way of Pinara del Rio, Cuba, presenting the 2000 Olympics, freestyle wrestling silver medalist, and the number three ranked middleweight contender in the world,
02:20Yoel!
02:21Soldier of God, Romero!
02:27And now introducing the champion, fighting out of the red corner, an undefeated mixed martial artist holding a perfect professional record, 18 wins, no losses.
02:42He stands, 6 feet, 4 inches tall, weighing in at 184 and 1 1ā2 pounds.
02:48Fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand, by way of Longo's Nigeria, presenting the reigning,
02:57defending, undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the world, Israel, the last style bender, Anasanya!
03:15Oh!
03:21Okay, gentlemen, in the center, please.
03:26All right, gentlemen, we've been through the rules in the locker room.
03:28Wants to obey my commands at all times, want to protect yourselves at all times.
03:31Want to touch the clubs?
03:31Good job.
03:32See you in the corners.
03:32Let's go.
03:35I'm telling you, I'm telling you.
03:37I'm so sorry.
03:37My heart is beating so fast.
03:38You can't be good for the long-term health.
03:40My goosebumps.
03:40It is crazy what this job does to you.
03:45Can't do too many.
03:46Can't do too many of them.
03:48For a fight like this.
03:48Man.
03:49It's nothing like a UFC championship on pay-per-view.
03:52Yeah.
03:53Tonight's fight clock is brought to you by Modelo.
03:55Groove for those with a fighting spirit.
03:57Yoel Romero out of the Southpaw stance in white.
04:00Israel, Anasanya, going orthodox early.
04:02He is in the black and gold befitting a champion.
04:05Look at Yoel.
04:06Look at Yoel, man.
04:07I'm telling you.
04:07It's like, what's he doing?
04:10Look at Yoel.
04:10He's giving you something to think about.
04:18I mean, I don't, yeah, I mean.
04:23The women had thrown 100 strikes by this point in the fight.
04:25Yes, they had already gotten going.
04:27He looks like he's 220 pounds right now.
04:29He looks big.
04:33Anasanya believes that this fight is going to be a battle of rhythm.
04:36I got to impose mine on him.
04:37He wants to pressure him, but it's got to be the right pressure.
04:40I mean, Anasanya is a quote machine.
04:44Says he may be built for fighting.
04:46I've been bred for fighting.
04:49Yeah, Izzy's a great interview.
04:51He understands that Yoel wants to fight at a slower pace.
04:54He just needs to find the right time to make the pace a little bit faster without putting himself at too much risk because of how dangerous Yoel is.
05:03Well, what you talked about before is what I'm interested in.
05:06Is Yoel going to use his wrestling?
05:08Because that would be the biggest flip, right?
05:11The one thing that he hasn't used, and he's such a spectacular wrestler, but very rarely do you ever see it in mixed martial arts, in his mixed martial arts career.
05:20You just see his striking.
05:21We saw him with Frank Chimizo at the Open Workout, who's a phenomenal world champion.
05:25Cuban wrestlers for Italy, I think.
05:28And at his training camp, I saw him doing a lot more wrestling than he normally does.
05:33So maybe that's the idea, but he has to find a way to start engaging Izzy in the wrestling sequences.
05:39So two minutes have gone by.
05:48Yoel Romero has not attempted a strike.
05:51This crowd's spoiled.
05:52Yeah, I mean...
05:58Yeah, they've gotten spoiled tonight.
06:05But once it starts going, it's going to be good.
06:09Ooh, strong low kick by Yoel.
06:16I talked to Luke Rockwood, and he said, even kicking Yoel, if he checks a kick, it feels like you're kicking metal.
06:22Yeah.
06:22He said the dude's made of just, like, steel.
06:31Subtle stance switch from Adesanya, trying to work his way into striking range.
06:35I just think there's a different danger with fighting Romero, right?
06:42You know that he can take you down.
06:44You know that he can knock you out.
06:46And you've seen Izzy go at guys with a little bit more, less caution in the past.
06:53And right now, he's just trying to find Yoel's timing.
06:55Adesanya's takedown defense just outstanding.
07:00Connection for Romero.
07:01And that's the problem, right?
07:03The moment Izzy got in the range, he got stunk.
07:05I mean, that was crazy.
07:08From just standing there to landing that punch.
07:10I mean, with Romero, you got to choose, right?
07:18Like, Paulo Costa just said, to hell with it, and he just went after him.
07:20That was the most impressive performance I've ever seen against Romero.
07:24Yeah.
07:24Paulo Costa is another dude made out of metal.
07:27Yes.
07:28Izzy blinking out that left eye.
07:31He's touched it a couple times.
07:33And he certainly touched that lead leg of Romero there, coming up on a minute to go in round one.
07:44But, like, even this, right?
07:45Like, as slow of a round as this is, Yoel has found a way to really slow Izzy down.
07:52If he can go steal a takedown now, he can put one in the bag.
07:56Izzy has to start to really let himself go a little bit and make Yoel fight.
08:00He said he's very aware that Yoel will get tired, but he will not get tired if he can fight at this pace.
08:09Nice.
08:09Jumping round kick to the body, and it lands.
08:22Under 30 seconds to go on the round.
08:24Romero's picked a couple of spots well.
08:26But a pedestrian first round with 20 seconds to go.
08:34We were at about 600 strikes in the last one.
08:36I mean, at this pace, we'll be at 15.
08:40I have a feeling it's going to heat up.
08:42It has to.
08:45There's no way it's going to stay like this.
08:47I should not say that, though.
08:49Izzy will not allow him to do this in five rounds.
08:51Well, MMA's the theater of the unpredictable.
08:55Weird round one.
09:08How do you score that round?
09:09The scoring language discourages 10-10s to such an extent, but yes, you can.
09:25That should be 10-10.
09:26So is it going to be, I mean, it's four strikes landed to three for Romero.
09:32Take all the time in the world.
09:33Yeah, I mean, what do you do with that?
09:38Boom.
09:39Oh, my goodness.
09:39That might be the round-winning strike.
09:41That might be it.
09:42And then there was the jumping round kick to the body as well.
09:45So you might go 10-9 Romero.
09:46But if you're Romero, in terms of cardio projections and managing cardio,
09:51you've got to feel pretty good to have those five minutes in the can
09:55without much energy expenditure at all.
09:57Well, I mean, if you're thinking steel rounds,
10:02that's about as good as it gets for a guy that doesn't want to put out
10:04too much of a workload.
10:07Adesanya's going to have to take some chances.
10:13These American top team coaches, just brilliant,
10:15as are the City Kickboxing guys, of course.
10:17But Mike Brown, one of the best coaches under that ATT roof,
10:21has worked a lot with Romero in advance of this title fight.
10:24It's insane how Mike Brown...
10:26Oh!
10:28Adesanya had landed, and a big counter left from Romero.
10:32That was a big shot.
10:34Oh, man.
10:36It just keeps you on edge.
10:37The explosiveness of Yoel Romero keeps his opponents on edge.
10:42He just defies what people think about when it comes to aging.
10:46He doesn't.
10:48He has not aged.
10:50His head coach, Pedro Le, has said somebody needs to study him
10:53because he's getting faster and stronger.
10:55I mean...
10:55And you've sort of intimated as much, Joe, over the years.
10:59Like, we've got to study this, man.
10:59He's better.
11:00He hasn't stopped improving.
11:04Well, Izzy's going to have to take some chances, though, man.
11:07I mean, he's taken two big shots from Yoel.
11:09Yoel has not shut out the lights.
11:11So, obviously, he can take the shot, right?
11:13He's going to have to put himself in the line of fire a little bit,
11:15or Yoel's going to try to steal this thing from him.
11:20To this point, the fight being contested at Romero's pace.
11:23A little flurry there from the champion.
11:26And this is what he needs to do, right?
11:27He's starting to close the range a little bit.
11:29I know it puts him in a little more danger,
11:32but it allows him to fight his fight.
11:34Ooh, there he goes.
11:36Beautiful kick to the body.
11:38Beautiful inside low kick.
11:40Izzy's getting loose on the outside.
11:42Well, after tonight's main event,
11:48we'll recap all the action from Vegas on the UFC 248 post show on ESPN+.
11:52Chael Son and Paul Felder joining me to break it all down.
11:54It's right after the main event.
11:56It's yours on ESPN+.
11:57Yoel just tried to punch him in the legs.
12:06That's it, that's it.
12:07There he goes, man.
12:11There he goes.
12:12Such a nuanced attack from Adesanya.
12:18Hard to know what's coming and from which angle.
12:21He throws a lot of paints.
12:23Tries to get a read on what Romero's doing.
12:30Two and a half gone by here, round two.
12:35Romero knocked out Robert...
12:36I'm sorry.
12:38Izzy knocked out Robert Whitaker.
12:39Robert Whitaker showed that he does have a knockout ability.
12:41He does have power.
12:43But seeing Romero finish all those guys,
12:45you understand that the risk is so great
12:48that it's keeping Israel from fighting his normal style of fight.
12:51Romero with a lot of pressure.
12:58Oh my goodness.
13:02He's so dangerous.
13:03People backing up in their seats as he presses forward.
13:12It's crazy to think, though, that when Izzy put his hands up like that to defend those punches,
13:17he could have easily just grabbed the leg and sat it down.
13:19But it's almost like he refuses to use that wrestling.
13:24Why do you think that is?
13:25I have no idea.
13:26Have you ever had a conversation with him about it?
13:27I've never asked him.
13:29Please do.
13:30Maybe he doesn't want to put the effort, knowing how exhausting it gets over time.
13:34But, I mean, this guy's on his, you know, last title shot, you've got to imagine.
13:40You've got to be willing to do everything to try to win.
13:42You would imagine that, except for the fact that he doesn't seem to be aging.
13:46And wants to fight until he's 50.
13:48Yeah, well, you know, Bernard Hopkins, he said, fought until he's 51.
13:53Yeah.
13:53And he uses him as an example of what's possible.
13:56But, first of all, that's boxing.
13:58Yes.
13:58And, second, Bernard is a brilliant defensive boxer.
14:01Bernard never got hit.
14:02He was one of the most genius boxers ever, in terms of the style that he employed,
14:09how he was so defensive-oriented, so smart, the way he would clinch and hold on to guys.
14:15Woo!
14:17Beautiful inside leg of Kafka now.
14:19Adesanya goes high under 40 seconds, now to go round two.
14:22And as long as he's kicking, he's a little bit further away from Romero on those counters.
14:26Because Romero's not countering with kicks, right?
14:28He's throwing punches to try to hurt you.
14:32Well, you know, City kickboxing's Eugene Behrman thinks of everything,
14:45but you wonder if this approach from Romero has surprised them a little bit.
14:50Nice stick, and then moved by Adesanya.
15:00Great job, great job.
15:16Fee, hold on, let him take his time.
15:32Let him take his time.
15:34Fee, hold on, let him take his time.
15:36Everything's good.
15:38Fee, you have to hit him in the belly, hit him in the belly.
15:42Keep those feints going, let's make him guessing.
15:49Let's go, guys.
15:51Let's go.
15:52Let's go.
15:53Round three, brought to you by P3, the official protein snack of UFC.
16:03Audio-wise, hard to pick up too much between rounds, but Joe, you maybe saw something.
16:07All right, third round, let's go.
16:08Yeah, you can see there's a significant swelling on the right side of Israel's face,
16:12and they were using an end swell on it in between rounds.
16:14And that was probably from that exchange when Yelow tripped him and got him up against the cage.
16:22His left hand is his most dangerous weapon, in my opinion, other than his flying knees.
16:32Romero looked like he was going to fight with a little bit more forward pressure that round,
16:35and now he's starting to back up again.
16:37So if you're Izzy, you just start throwing those kicks again.
16:40Oh, ducked right under that high kick.
16:42Yeah, he's ducked under a few of those tonight.
16:45Kind of crazy that that's his defense, though.
16:47He's done that in numerous fights.
16:51I mean, that's...
16:52Rolling thunder.
16:56Adesanya with an effective attack on that lead leg of Romero,
16:59starting to show some swelling.
17:01And, you know, I know the pace hasn't really picked up much,
17:19but Izzy's fighting much better now, right?
17:21He's mixing up his kicks.
17:23He's throwing them high.
17:24He's throwing them low.
17:25He's evading those big strikes now from Romero.
17:28Starting to fight better.
17:28Matrix-like as he avoided that last offering from Yoel.
17:35He's just got to be careful getting lulled into a false sense of security,
17:39because Yoel will show you a pace, a slow pace,
17:43and then out of nowhere just launch on you.
17:47Both fighters exchange leg kicks there.
17:49But some definite respect and caution from Adesanya.
18:00And it's easy to see why.
18:02Well, he's been stung a couple times now, but he survived it.
18:06And he hasn't really been rocked.
18:08He's just been stung.
18:09I've got to think that Izzy wanted to fight Romero because of the wrestling background, right?
18:14To show that he can handle anything.
18:16But Romero doesn't wrestle.
18:20So maybe he wanted to fight him for the strike.
18:26It's just so weird that he doesn't wrestle.
18:28It really is.
18:29You've got to watch Romero trying to reach at your leg with his right hand.
18:36Because he did that against Rockhold, right?
18:37He made Rockhold think the shot was coming,
18:39and he threw the straight left that finished the fight.
18:42So you can't react too much to those, I guess I'd call them takedown attempts.
18:47Oh, left hand from Romero, then a slip, or so it appeared.
18:54Only one man has finished Romero in mixed martial arts competition.
18:58FeijĆ£o back in 2011.
19:02I mean, I was there, and I saw it was kind of a freak thing.
19:05You know, he landed a spin in the elbow or something, right?
19:07Yeah, I believe so.
19:08Yeah, it was like a spin in the elbow he got Romero with.
19:12Under two minutes to go here in round three.
19:15Body kick is good for Romero.
19:19And at the time, FeijĆ£o, Rafael Pozzaro,
19:21he was an absolute assassin.
19:26And Romero was very inexperienced.
19:28Yeah, it was really, he had almost no striking.
19:32Good front kick to the body by Izzy.
19:34He was really sticking that in there.
19:36Yep, Izzy could do more of that.
19:43Oh!
19:43Oh!
19:45Black to the ribs.
19:56Adesanya was inside there, managing risk well.
20:02Back to the orthodox stance now.
20:04He's been...
20:04Boom!
20:06Nice job to raise the kick there to the head.
20:08And the only time Izzy's been stopped is by Alex Pereira,
20:11who is an assassin who fights for glory.
20:14He's one of the best kickboxers on the planet.
20:16Definitely one of the best knockout artists in kickboxing.
20:21And he got caught with a vicious left hook in a fight that he was winning.
20:24Come on!
20:24Come on!
20:25Come on!
20:25Come on!
20:26Come on!
20:27Come on!
20:27Come on!
20:27Come on!
20:28Come on!
20:28Come on!
20:29Come on!
20:29Come on!
20:30Come on!
20:30Come on!
20:31Come on!
20:31Come on!
20:32Come on!
20:32Come on!
20:33Beautiful jab from Adesanya.
20:3730 seconds now to go in the round.
20:44Right hand to the body.
20:45Izzy's picking up the pace a little bit here.
20:46Yes.
20:46Yep.
20:46Fighting better.
20:47Fighting much better now.
20:49Oh!
20:51Glancing head kick from Adesanya,
20:52who's having a pretty big third round now.
20:56What are all the lighters in the audience?
20:59I mean, I don't understand what that is.
21:00I think they want more action.
21:01They're spoiled.
21:02People are booing.
21:04They're literally booing this fight.
21:06It's just because the last fight between Whaley and Johanna was so crazy.
21:21Izzy fought very well in his third round, and it was behind the kicks.
21:24He landed a lot of outside leg kicks, threw some good front kicks up the middle.
21:28A couple body kicks.
21:30He did a real good job of just mixing it up while still managing Ricks.
21:35He's throwing these kicks from the outside.
21:38He all landed a beautiful inside kick there, but it was front kick to the body.
21:42Now listen to this.
21:46That is a massive body kick by the last Alvinder.
21:50Normally that would hurt.
21:51It didn't seem to bother you all very much.
21:54And I have to wonder aloud when we might see an uptick in the aggression from Yoel Romero,
22:06just given the fact that this is his fourth UFC title fight.
22:08You've got to give the judges something to score.
22:09If you're getting paid for a championship fight, let's see what you do.
22:12Let's go.
22:13Back it up.
22:13Back it up.
22:14Damian, we've got to give him his two sets.
22:15That's very odd.
22:16I've never seen that before.
22:17He said you've got to give the judges something to score.
22:20Well, there was plenty to score in that round.
22:24Yeah, I scored Izzy's round.
22:27You know, the third round was Izzy's round.
22:29Good low kick by Izzy.
22:35He's coaching them on.
22:40Yeah.
22:41Saying, let's go.
22:42Keep going.
22:43That's very strange.
22:47I mean, he can take a point, obviously, for timidity.
22:51But it's weird to see a referee get so involved.
22:52Especially in the title fight, right?
22:53Yeah.
22:54When the rewards are how damaging it could be to do that.
23:06Yeah, I mean, this is a really high stakes game they're playing.
23:10Because either one guy can shut the other's lights out.
23:14You know, and when you look at this, right, how much credit do you give Robert Whittaker
23:21for going in there for ten rounds with this guy?
23:23He spent an hour in the octagon with this guy and really went and just fought him.
23:27You know, and Izzy's fighting a smart fight, but he's not necessarily just engaging Romero
23:33and giving him a chance.
23:34And again, I just want to bring this up one more time.
23:37It shows you how crazy good Paulo Costa is.
23:40Yes.
23:41Because Costa just took it to him.
23:44He fought Romero like Romero fights everybody else.
23:47He just pressured him and stayed on him.
23:50And had he emerged healthy out of that fight, he would be challenging for the UFC middleweight title tonight.
23:59You can hear Izzy's coach, yo, circle, circle, circle.
24:03He's not allowing Romero to set traps and get him stuck against the side of the octagon.
24:08That's where you find yourself in danger against Joel.
24:12In the open, he has not been able to really catch up to Izzy.
24:16And Izzy is following that game plan.
24:25He's not allowing himself to get caught up.
24:28All right, now a break in the action due to an eye poke.
24:33Adesanya appears frustrated, although did acknowledge that maybe there was an inadvertent foul.
24:39I'm sure he's frustrated with himself.
24:44Let's see, look at it here.
24:46Yeah.
24:47Oh, yeah.
24:48You're both doing it.
24:57Just trying to keep your fingers closed when you're in close range.
24:59Yeah.
25:00Okay, please.
25:07Want me to bring in the doctor to look at you?
25:08You okay?
25:09Want me to bring in the doctor to take a look?
25:11Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
25:12Let me see.
25:13Oh, they're gonna bring in the doctor.
25:17Oh, no.
25:18You got a rag or a towel to wipe the sweat and take a look at his eye.
25:23Doctor is in to take a look at that right eye of Yoel Romero.
25:29Okay?
25:30All right.
25:31Okay.
25:32Please be careful, all right?
25:33What do you see, DC?
25:34Look at y'all's right leg, though.
25:35I mean, that right leg from all those leg kicks is starting to get damaged.
25:50Megan just told me, she goes, look at his leg.
25:52Starting to swell.
25:53It's getting pretty beat up.
25:54Inside and out.
25:55Yeah.
25:56Oh!
25:57Romero was able to briefly ground out of Sonya, but unable to follow up.
26:06Look at all that redness on that leg, though.
26:08You see that?
26:09He's lit up.
26:10Yeah, he lit him up out there.
26:11He's beating up his legs.
26:14That has to be very encouraging for Izzy, though, to get up that quickly after being taken
26:19down.
26:20And it's when Izzy goes southpaw is when he's landing that outside leg kick.
26:33Yeah, that's been the better stance for him tonight.
26:36Coming up on the two-minute mark here in round four.
26:39I mean, Yoel's just jumping.
26:46Starting to sense maybe there's an urgency in that brain of Yoel Romero.
26:50Last two times he's fought for a UFC belt, he was ineligible to win the title after missing
26:54weight.
26:55It's all in front of him here.
26:56I mean...
26:57Less than seven minutes to go.
26:58But he's gonna have to go.
26:59I mean, right now Adesanya is doing enough to win this fight.
27:06Come on, Yoel, fight!
27:08And honestly, if I'm Izzy, I'm worried.
27:12Because the way Judson has been in MMA lately, nothing feels good.
27:16You know, nothing...
27:17This can't feel safe.
27:18Right.
27:19With the way things have been going.
27:22Adesanya defensively moving his head beautifully.
27:25Did it again there.
27:27Hold your hand.
27:34Again.
27:35Make that leg kick again.
27:36That right leg is really nasty looking.
27:39Look at it.
27:45And that's gonna affect his ability to close the distance for sure.
27:48Yes.
27:51And Romero have a tougher time checking those kicks if he's pressuring.
27:55If he's standing back, it's easier to check a kick.
27:57You can see him more easily, right?
27:59Oh!
28:00Kick buck with him there.
28:02Kick buck with him there.
28:11Romero ducks back to avoid that high kick.
28:15Not as heavy on that lead leg now.
28:20Shot from Romero.
28:21Adesanya's takedown defense holds up.
28:23Couple nice strikes there, though, from the Soldier of God.
28:29Ten seconds.
28:34Waning seconds here of round four.
28:37Five minutes to go to the side, the middleweight title.
28:39Ducked into that question mark kick like he knew it was coming.
28:42His vision is insane.
28:45I mean, 42 years old with that type of vision is crazy.
28:48And there's the reflexes.
28:51Okay.
28:53Okay.
28:55Let him breathe.
28:57Let him breathe.
28:58Let him breathe a bit.
28:59This is the last round, girl.
29:01This is the last round.
29:03Look how you finished.
29:04You're fresh.
29:05You're fresh.
29:06You're fresh.
29:08Okay.
29:10Let's take a look at some of the action here.
29:11Look at these low kicks that are really chewing up that right leg of Yoel Romero.
29:16Look at that one.
29:17Buckled the leg.
29:19Izzy's got perfect timing on that.
29:23Boom.
29:24Now let's listen to this one in real time.
29:27Oh.
29:28That one had some steam on it.
29:29That hurts just hearing it.
29:30That's why I play hoops, you know?
29:32What's on with that noise, Mitch?
29:33All right.
29:34Fifth and final round.
29:36All right, guys.
29:37Final round.
29:38Give him something to fight over.
29:39Let's go.
29:40Let's go.
29:41Let's go.
29:42Let's go.
29:43Let's go.
29:44Let's go.
29:45Let's go.
29:46Let's go.
29:47Let's go.
29:48Let's go.
29:49Let's go.
29:50Let's go.
29:51Let's go.
29:52Let's go.
29:53Let's go.
29:55Let's go.
29:56Pretty darn effective over rounds three and four.
30:01I mean, I'm watching the fight, and I think it's pretty clear that Israel Asani is winning.
30:07But I just got a text from one of my buddies at home and goes,
30:09you always win in the fight.
30:10And I'm like, what are you watching?
30:13I mean, he's not doing anything.
30:15Is he a judge in Texas?
30:16Oh, oh, oh, we're going back to Texas.
30:19I thought Texas might be in the corner in timeout right now.
30:22But I guess we're going back.
30:24In the corner in timeout.
30:26Yoel was not fighting with any sense of urgency, but he always seems like this.
30:38Like he just lulls you into a false sense of security and then tries to explode.
30:45Oh, beautiful low kick.
30:47Those hurt.
30:49And that thing's really swelling up now.
30:50It's got lumps on it.
30:52Okay, so when you think about the judgment of this fight, right?
31:04Izzy landed.
31:05No strikes in round one.
31:07Three strikes in round one.
31:08Round two.
31:09Very little happened.
31:11Oh.
31:11Three and four.
31:12It looks like Izzy won the round.
31:13Right?
31:13This is what I'm hearing now.
31:15So maybe the guy is watching the fight more like it's being contested.
31:20I don't know.
31:21Maybe I just don't know.
31:23It's hard to call fights while you're watching them, but it's hard to imagine that Yoel is doing better.
31:33We'll get the total strikes by round.
31:34We'll get a look at it.
31:35There it is.
31:38Nothing doing in round one.
31:40Slight advantages in two, three, and four, and now five for Adesanya.
31:44That's what I would imagine it would look like in the judges' eyes.
31:47Look at this.
31:48It's such a slow pace.
31:50But Izzy did a great job there of avoiding that takedown, and Yoel did not like that leg kick.
31:55Yep.
31:56Romero has not been credited with a takedown on his three attempts.
31:59Well, if he's going to wrestle, this is the time to try to incorporate that, because it feels like he's a step behind.
32:08Yeah.
32:11Well, the UFC championship has eluded Yoel Romero.
32:15He has two and a half minutes to go here to try to dethrone Adesanya.
32:20The smartest man in MMA, Dominick Cruz, just texted me and said,
32:24Izzy's not doing much more than Yoel.
32:26So he, I mean, everybody feels like this is just a weird fight.
32:30And honestly, how many of Yoel's fights aren't weird?
32:33The majority of them are pretty weird.
32:35Yes.
32:36It's just what happens.
32:37It's either weird like he doesn't make weight, or it's weird like stools.
32:42Yeah.
32:42Oh, yeah.
32:43You remember that time he wouldn't come back out against Tipton?
32:46Yeah.
32:46And then he knocked him out, didn't he?
32:48Yeah.
32:49Very, very controversial fight.
32:51Because he was badly hurt right before that.
32:53Yeah.
32:56Nice left from Romero.
33:02He needs a lot more than that.
33:04Not a lot of time to go.
33:07Adesanya, wisely, evades, checks the clock.
33:12Under two minutes to go now.
33:13Oh, he stung him with that left hand.
33:21Romero's had a pretty good minute here.
33:24But it's got to be his last minute.
33:26I mean, this minute and 24, he's really got to go for it.
33:28You got to think, man.
33:30But regardless of what happens here, you can't be mad.
33:35You can't be mad about the result if you didn't truly go out there and put an exclamation point on the performance.
33:42Right.
33:44Oof.
33:45He's reacting to that low kick now.
33:50Oh, Romero just had that right hand high enough to prevent that kick from getting fully through.
33:57Final 40 seconds of this fifth and final round.
34:14First defense of the undisputed title for Israel Adesanya.
34:17Oh, that one hurt him bad.
34:26Look at the lumps on that right leg.
34:29I mean, that looks horrific.
34:31So it looks like not much is going on.
34:33But look at the damage Joel has taken.
34:35Yeah.
34:36Couple nice strikes there with that left from Joel Romero.
34:39He's had a pretty good fifth round, all things considered.
34:42Final 10 seconds of the fight.
34:47Romero seemingly raising his hands in victory.
34:51So there it is.
34:52Israel Adesanya.
34:54And Joel Romero, a little dust up there late in the fight.
34:57They go the 25-minute distance.
35:00I don't know, man.
35:00Not the fight we expected.
35:03No.
35:03But at the highest level, there's risk management.
35:06There's so many things that go into it.
35:08Well, it's just, it's, no one can tell you how they should fight each other.
35:15They know what they're capable of.
35:17And they know what it's like to be in there with each other.
35:19And when you're dealing with a guy like Yoel, who's so insanely explosive and powerful.
35:23And when you're dealing with a guy like Adesanya, who's so clever and technical.
35:27It's hard to find your rhythm.
35:32And it's, it wasn't the best fight.
35:35All right.
35:36This fight replay brought to you by Nemirov.
35:38Bold character since 1872.
35:42I've been tasked with doing a fight recap.
35:45That's one punch by Yoel.
35:47Double jump and kick lands for Yoel.
35:49That might win him round number one.
35:52Leg kicks by Izzy.
35:53I mean, early it did not look like much, but by the end of the fight, you could see the damage on the legs of Yoel Romero.
36:02As we keep going, another overhand lands for Yoel Romero.
36:06It was very few, but when he threw him, they had damage.
36:10Big kick by Izzy.
36:11And then he does a cartwheel.
36:14Yoel yells, throws a right hand.
36:16They punch and go at each other a little bit.
36:20And then they yell at each other face to face.
36:22The most aggression that we saw the entire fight.
36:26But I mean, I was on edge the whole time because you know how fast things can change.
36:29Well, and the tension of a UFC title fight.
36:32You never know.
36:32I mean, at the end of it, nothing happened, right?
36:34Nothing gigantic happened.
36:35And off-camera, Romero just did like 100 push-ups.
36:41There is Paulo Costa, the Brazilian.
36:43Hard to believe he could be involved in a fight like that.
36:46No, he would never be involved.
36:47I mean, he fought Yoel Romero like that.
36:49There was no risk involved.
36:51And honestly, he would do the same thing against Israel Adesanya.
36:56Whoever Paulo Costa fights with his belt next, it's going to be an amazing fight.
37:00It's getting tense here.
37:05It looks like the buff has made his way into the octagon.
37:08Adesanya and Romero go the distance.
37:11Here is the official decision from Bruce.
37:13Ladies and gentlemen, after five rounds, we go to the judges' score cards for a decision.
37:19The judges score the contest, 48-47.
37:2348-47.
37:24And 49-46 for the winner.
37:28And still!
37:30The undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the world,
37:38Israel, the last style bender, Adesanya!
37:44All right, I'm here with the winner and still champion, Israel Adesanya.
38:01Let's let it settle.
38:07A difficult fight.
38:09An odd fight.
38:11It was a hard fight.
38:13But, cliche,
38:15I did what I had to do.
38:17You can see he's going to be limping after this.
38:18Look at his leg.
38:19Look at his leg.
38:20I fucked his leg up.
38:21He took...
38:22It's really challenging.
38:23It's so hard.
38:38Let's let's hit him.
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