Yoel Romero suffered a unanimous decision loss to UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC 225.
The fighter would be taken to the hospital after the show, but managed to put on an Instagram video, where the Cuban star declared himself to be a champion.
“Tonight, I don’t feel that I lost,” Romero said in a the video. “I am the champ. It’s like the movie, like Rocky Marciano. Today, I am black Rocky, the people’s champ.”
Romero was first defeated via unanimous decision by Whittaker at UFC 213, but the second encounter was non-title after Romero missed weight.
Malki Kawa serves as the manager for Romero and he believes the middleweight contender was robbed twice against Whittaker.
“Guys, he got robbed twice,” Kawa said to MMA Junkie. “Two times in Chicago. Commission took it from him. The judges took it from him. But I’ll tell you what: As fans, as people who watch the sport for a long time, that may have been one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen in my life, and I know a lot of you guys feel the same way. Give it up for this man. This man did something impossible based on everything. He had a game plan, he executed the game plan, and he won that fight.”
There is a slim chance that Romero and Whittaker will meet again for the gold, as the UFC rarely gives fighters who are 0-2 against a champion a third chance to claim the gold.
