Yoel Romero and Anthony “Rumble Johnson” Set to Collide at Bellator 258
The dream fight of MMA fans around the world is set to take place on May 7 at Bellator 258, between fan-favorite fighters Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson. Both men have had long, successful careers in MMA and will be making their appearances at Bellator for the first time. This one has fireworks written all over it, as both Romero and Johnson have made a name for themselves through their vintage knockouts and devastating power.
Ever since he joined the UFC in 2013, Yoel Romero has faced nearly every elite Middleweight and has been a key player in some classic fights. After losing his last contest in a lackluster title challenge against champion Israel Adesanya (and supposedly turning down a few fights offered to him shortly thereafter), the promotion decided to part ways with Romero in December, to the surprise of many fans. Bellator quickly took advantage of the opportunity and signed the new free agent for their Light Heavyweight Grand Prix. This will be Romero’s first time competing at Light Heavyweight since 2011. It shouldn't be too much of a change for him, since he was always a very large Middleweight, even missing weights on several occasions.
Standing opposite of Romero will be the famously hard-hitting Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Johnson was a nightmare for UFC Light Heavyweights for years due to his remarkable ability to leave his opponents unconscious with just one punch. After a second loss to Daniel Cormier for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title in 2017, Johnson decided to hang up the gloves and call it a career. After teasing a comeback for a while, Johnson finally signed with Bellator in December 2020 and was also entered into the Grand Prix.
At this point, there was only one thing to do: set Romero and Johnson to meet in the opening round of the tournament.
Both men come into this fight with a few unknowns surrounding them. Last we saw of Romero, he looked as dangerous as we’ve ever seen him, but father time is undefeated and 44 is well past the prime age for most mixed martial artists. Rumble also has some question marks around him. It's been 4 years since his last mixed martial arts fight and he gained a significant amount of weight upon retiring. Though he was able to lose that extra weight and physically resembles a prime Rumble, questions about his conditioning could be warranted. Whatever the case may be with these two gentlemen, the fans are certainly the winners here. Whatever you do, don’t blink during this one: you won't want to miss a second