Bellator has released an official poster for the highly anticipated light heavyweight bout between fearsome KO artists Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson.
The tweet embedded below, posted by Bellator MMA President Scott Coker’s Twitter account, offers a poster for the upcoming clash between the two former UFC fighters.
Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson are set to make their promotional debuts for the Bellator MMA organization in May 2021. Both of their fan favorites last competed in MMA bouts inside the UFCs famous Octagon. Romero has not competed in a professional MMA match since March 2020, while Johnson’s last MMA match was in April 2017.
Known as the Rumble by fans around the world, popular KO artist Anthony Johnson retired from the sport of MMA in April 2017. In the years to come, the MMA community has been plagued with rumors about Johnson possibly returning to the sport. The UFC veteran is now finally set to return, albeit not in the UFC Octagon where fans last saw him, but in the Bellator MMA cage.
Yoel Romero vs. Anthony Johnson is the fourth and final Bellator World Grand Prix quarterfinal match. Other Grand Prix fighters include reigning division champion Vadim Nemkov, Phil Davis, Ryan Bader, Lute Machida, Corey Anderson and Dulitzhan Yegshimuradov.
The winners of the three quarterfinal matches already played are Vadim Nemkov, Ryan Bader and Corey Anderson. Bader will face Anderson in one of the two semi-final matches of the Grand Prix. The winner of this fight will advance to the final match of the Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, the winner of the quarter-final between Joel Romero and Anthony Johnson will face Vadim Nemkov in the other Grand Prix semi-final match. The winner of Romero/Johnson vs. Nemkovis will face the winner of Bader vs. Anderson in the final duel. The winner of the tournament will take home the coveted Bellator title in the light heavyweight division.
Yul Romero returns to the light heavyweight division after leaving the UFC
An Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling, Yoel Romero is considered one of the best fighters to ever compete in MMA. God’s Soldier began his MMA career in the light heavyweight division.
Yoel Romero later signed a contract with the UFC and competed in the UFC middleweight division. Romero’s most recent fight was a unanimous decision loss against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 (March 2020). Following his departure from the UFC, Romero signed a contract with Bellator MMA and will return to the latter organization’s light heavyweight division.
On the other hand, Anthony Johnson’s last fight was a second round loss against Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 (April 2017).
A match between Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson is set to serve as a co-headliner for Bellator 258. The event will take place on May 7, 2021 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Posted on April 18, 2021, 5:32 AM IST