Israel Adesanya admits Yoel Romero title clash was one of UFC’s most boring fights

Israel Adesanya has acknowledged that his middleweight title defence against Yoel Romero at UFC 248 was among the least entertaining fights of his career.

Adesanya retained his belt by decision in March 2020, but the five-round contest produced just 88 combined landed strikes as both fighters struggled to generate sustained action.

Adesanya explains why neither fighter took risks

Discussing Anthony Wint ahead of UFC 332, Adesanya drew comparisons with Romero and reflected on how mutual respect between two dangerous knockout artists contributed to their cautious approach.

“I had one of the most exciting fights in the history of the planet (vs. Kelvin Gastelum) that's inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, but I also had one of the most boring fights in the history of the company alongside Yoel Romero,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel.

The former champion revealed that one powerful shot from Romero affected his vision and made him wary of taking further risks.

“We're both dangerous men. When he hit me with that zinger, I seen four in front of me, and I thought, ‘OK, he’s going to come in for the kill.’”

Romero did not press forward for the finish, however, and the bout remained a tense, low-output affair.

“There's a reason he didn't want to come close and there's a reason I didn't want to risk again getting hit by that zinger. So yeah – shout out to him.”

Romero remains a threat at 49

At 49, Romero continues to demonstrate his punching power.

He lost a BKFC bout to Darren Till this past Saturday at Manchester’s AO Arena, but still managed to cut and knock down the British fighter.