UFC 221: Romero stuns Rockhold with crushing KO despite suspected 'broken leg'

The bout in Perth saw Yoel Romero deliver a spectacular performance

Cuban powerhouse Yoel Romero knocked out former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in devastating fashion at UFC 221, despite believing he might have broken his leg earlier in the contest.

Their main event bout in Perth, Australia, was originally set as a battle for the interim UFC middleweight title but Romero, who came into the contest on short notice, was unable to make weight, coming in 2.8lbs over the 185lb championship limit.

It meant the Cuban didn’t walk away from the octagon with a championship belt around his waist, but his performance against former champion Rockhold will have sent shockwaves through the division. 

As the fight began it was Rockhold who settled into the bout the quickest, establishing his rhythm and using a combination of left jabs and low kicks to keep Romero on the back foot. 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. 

The decisive moment came in the third round, when Romero closed the distance and threw a huge overhand left that connected flush, dropping the American to the canvas.

Then, with Rockhold stunned up against the fence, Romero unloaded a crushing left uppercut that knocked the Californian out cold for one of the most devastating knockouts seen in the octagon so far this year.

Already ranked as the division’s number-one contender, Romero’s victory is likely to see him installed as the next challenger for the UFC middleweight title, held by Australian Robert Whittaker, who recorded a unanimous decision victory over the Cuban in July last year. 

The Cuban said after the fight that he was "pretty sure he broke his leg" from a Rockhold kick in the opening round. 

But fans hoping to see a match-up against Whittaker in the near future will take comfort from a tweet sent by Romero's rep shortly after the fight.

In the co-main event of the evening American heavyweight Curtis Blaydes overcame an early scare to score the biggest victory of his MMA career as he outpointed Kiwi legend Mark 'Super Samoan' Hunt after a gruelling three-round battle.

Hunt had Blaydes on wobbly legs in the first round, shocking the former collegiate wrestler with his famed power punches. But, unlike so many of Hunt’s previous opponents, Blaydes somehow survived and even managed to secure a takedown that effectively spared him any more punishment in the final moments of the round.

Blaydes then went to his wrestling game in rounds two and three as he dominated the former K-1 Grand Prix kickboxing champion to earn a unanimous decision victory, with scores of 30-26, 30-26 and 29-27 on the judges’ scorecards.

It was a big night for the Australian stars on the main card in Perth, with all three home fighters picking up impressive victories.

Twenty-four-year-old heavyweight Tai Tuivasa led the way with a dominant display of power punching as he battered gritty Frenchman Cyril Asker to a first-round TKO, then celebrated by drinking a beer from a fan’s shoe. 

Tuivasa’s brother-in-law and training partner, light-heavyweight fan favourite Tyson Pedro, scored an equally impressive victory, defeating Russian Saparbek Safarov with an eye-catching kimura first-round submission finish.

There was some eye-catching of a less impressive kind in the welterweight bout between Australian Jake Matthews and China’s Li Jingliang, however. 

Matthews, 23, produced arguably the best performance of his career to defeat Jingliang, but the bout was marred by an ugly incident when the Chinese fighter blatantly gouged Matthews’ right eye to escape a tight triangle choke. Amazingly, the referee failed to punish Jingliang, while Matthews classily refused to criticise his opponent after the contest.

And there was good news for British fans, as lightweight veteran Ross 'The Real Deal' Pearson produced a solid performance to earn a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 as he ended a run of four straight defeats with a hard-earned win over Japanese fighter Mizuto Hirota.

The next UFC show sees the octagon land in Austin, Texas, next weekend for UFC Fight Night, with welterweight fan favourite Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone facing Hawaiian Yancy Medeiros in the main event.

Then the action switches to Orlando, Florida, for UFC on FOX on 24 February, as rising featherweight contender Josh Emmett looks to continue his run of good form against perennial contender Jeremy Stephens.

And on 3 March the octagon returns to its spiritual home of Las Vegas, Nevada, as UFC women’s featherweight world champion Cristiane 'Cyborg' Justino returns to action against Yana Kunitskaya, and featherweight contenders Frankie Edgar and Brian Ortega go head to head in the co-main event.