Yoel Romero Wrecks Luke Rockhold In The Third Round At UFC 221

After a heated build-up, Yoel Romero hammered Luke Rockhold into oblivion on the way to a third-round knockout victory at UFC 221 in Perth.

Then, the man stepping in for Whittaker, Yoel Romero, missed weight on Saturday morning, deeming him ineligible to be crowned interim champion with a win over Rockhold.

However, this is no longer the case, as according to ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Romero will still have a chance to face Whittaker for the UFC Middleweight title as the UFC president said after the fight yesterday that Romero will fight Whittaker next despite the fact he didn't win an interim title. The fight between Rockhold (16-4) and Romero was supposed to be for the interim middleweight title. A powerful wrestler, Romero has developed some powerful striking over the years.

Romero vs Rockhold is expected to get underway at around 5:00am BST time.

Had he beaten Romero, Rockhold might have made a decision to stick around for a crack at Whittaker but after falling to his second defeat in three fights, a move 20lbs north can't be far away for the 33-year-old veteran. But there were too many punches from Romero to defend.

Rockhold and Romero eventually agreed to fight shortly before the card was scheduled to begin.

After two closely contested rounds, Romero exploded with an overhand left, which dropped the former middleweight champion.

"Rockhold is a very good athlete and an awesome fighter", Romero said after the fight.

Romero took the second with a number of clubbing flurries that wobbled Rockhold, but the American was right in the fight until Romero detonated his thunderous left. But "The Soldier of God" gave a glimpse of his power at the start of the second round as he came flying out of his corner and unloaded a barrage of heavy blows on the former Strikeforce and UFC world champion, who kept his composure well and circled clear of danger.

Rockhold, ranked No. 2, was expecting to put on a better showing than his last fight, when he earned a second-round TKO over David Branch at UFC Fight Night in Pittsburgh on September 16. Looking to avoid more damage Rockhold circled away as Romero chased him down against the fence.