Rockhold vs. Romero

This is the official discussion thread for Rockhold vs. Romero. Let's see what you've got.

Whittaker is injured. Rockhold faces Romero for another Interim belt in Perth. Joy.

This division is cursed. This should be a #1 contender fight no reason for it to be over an interim after Romero just fought for one.

Why does this always happen to me?

Oh man, that sucks.

Mma will never be like boxing with all these belts -Dana White

Anyone know the injury?

Maybe I'm way too oversimplifying this, but I think it will be just a matter of time before Romero explodes into boxing range and just simply outbox Rockhold to victory.

I have the feeling that Romero is just too strong for Rockhold.

And I have the feeling that Rockhold has too much height and reach for Romero.

Rockhold has a high chin and Yoel lands on guys. Luke can kick Yoel to keep him away but he’ll end up on his back. And Yoel is a ridiculous wrestler Andrew hasn’t no neck so I don’t see him getting the choke.

I just dont see yoel throwing luke around the cage, the dude trains with monster grapplers all the time, luke for sure has the better striking with his kicking arsenal imo, i actually see a similar fight to yoel and robert here.

I think if Luke solidifies dominant position on the ground it's pretty much over for Yoel, especially the longer the fight goes. But if Yoel can land good shots and keep top position on the ground, he can win. Hard one to pick. Luke has shown an iffy chin and Romero doesn't need to land too hard to hurt him. I'm picking Yoel by his standard 3rd round KO/TKO. I have a hunch he can land hard on the feet and take Luke down at will, since Weidman was able to have success at times.

Romero via hulk-smash.

Luke is technically the better fighter but i have very little faith in his striking defense, chin and durability. Especially at boxing and clinch range. All of which are going to be the key areas in this fight. I think Bisping exposed this weakness of Rockhold the last time they fought. Branch also had some success early with boxing but chose to grapple with Rockhold after he hurt him, which ended up losing him the fight.

On the outside, Luke will have difficulty landing his signature left body kick as Romero is a southpaw. Romero's explosive striking will also pose serious problems for Rockhold's suspect defence. For Rockhold to win the striking battle he would need to abandon his reliance on his sloppy counter right hook that has put him in trouble before and use his straight left to keep Romero off him when he explodes. Problem is, his straight left is not particularly good, he only uses it well to set up the left body kick. 

Most people seem to think that Rockhold's path to victory in this fight is on the ground. Question is, is he good enough of a wrestler to take Romero down and most importantly, keep him there? I don't think so. Rockhold prefers to take his opponents down from the clinch or against the cage and Romero is too high level of a wrestler for that to happen consistently in the fight. Even if he gets him down, Romero is such an explosive athlete, i expect him to get right back up. 

Unfortunately for Rockhold, i think his only chances in this fight are to either pick Romero apart from range with technical kickboxing and take him into deep water and maybe finish him late or catch him in a submission during a transition, both of which i don't think are likely to happen. 
 

Prediction : Romero via KO/TKO

* Edited at 02.05.2018, 4:23 PM ET *

Think Romero best chance is by knock out, striking. I don't think it a good idea at all for him to take Luke down. I think Luke would likely sweep him and then Romero is in deep ****. Luke in my opinion is by far the best middle weight on the ground in MMA. He is on another level then ever single person in his division when it comes to MMA grappling.  Luke biggest weakness is he defenses boxing and his over confidence in his speed. He not as fast as he think he is and he keeps his hands way to low.  If he keeps his hands up and sure up his defense, I think he beats Romero standing up. I think Luke should attempt some take downs of his own as well, just to tire Romero out, even if he can't get him down.  I think Luke should welcome take downs from Romero. I think Romero stands very little chance against Luke on the ground for any extended period of time.

* Edited at 02.05.2018, 4:50 PM ET *

hard to call on this one. i'd think a longer fight favors luke.

No for gay Jesus, people.

Romero if it's early and rockhold by late stoppage or decision

Romero will outbox Rockhold.

Tough to call. Rockhold could easily get knocked out early because of his glass chin. I hope he can get Romero late when he starts to get tired..