After all the rule-bending Yoel Romero has done inside the Octagon, a celebration is what he’s getting punished for.
The Soldier of God may very well have secured a title shot against Michael Bisping with his stunning performance at UFC 205.
Matched up against former belt-holder Chris Weidman in the lion’s den, Romero silenced the crowd inside the Madison Square Garden his vicious flying knee finish that left the All-American leaking blood from his noggin, defeated. The highlight-reel knockout was enough to earn him a Performance of the Night accolade that comes with a tasty $50,000 cash bonus.
Clearly delighted with his showing against Weidman, Romero celebrated the win by leaping out of the Octagon. He then performed a soldier’s march around the outside of the cage before reentering in time for Bruce Buffer to make the official announcement.
The New York State Athletic Commission didn’t appreciate his antics. Exiting the fighting area before the bout is officially over is in breach of their rulebook and to punish Romero they have slapped him with a 60-day suspension. This means the Olympian will be out of action until January 12, 2017.
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Romero wasn’t the only fighter on UFC 205 who was hit with a suspension. The NYSAC also suspended Kelvin Gastelum and Thiago Alves for weigh-in-related issues.
Gastelum was banned for six months for not showing up to the early weigh-ins ahead of his scheduled main card bout against fan-favourite Donald Cerrone. The rising welterweight knew he wasn’t going to make the 171 lb limit, so pulled out of the fight leaving Cowboy with no opponent for the event. Cerrone made weight to earn his show money and was rescheduled to fight Matt Brown at UFC 206 in Toronto.
Alves was suspended three months after missing by 6.6 lbs. He ended up competing at UFC 205, but he lost his catchweight bout to Jim Miller via unanimous decision
