Israel Adesanya will put his UFC middleweight title on the line against Yoel Romero at UFC 248. Photo / Getty Images
Christopher Reive runs through all you need to know for Israel Adesanya's UFC title defence against Yoel Romero.
Kiwi UFC star Israel Adesanya puts his middleweight title on the line against perennial contender Yoel Romero in a five-round bout which will headline UFC 248 in Las Vegas on Sunday.
This will be Adesanya's first official defence as undisputed champion, but his second bout since winning the interim title in April last year.
You know that character "The Thing" from the Fantastic Four; that one guy made of rock? That's the comic book version of Yoel Romero. Yes, he's 42 years old, but Romero is in incredible shape, is well sculpted and hits like a freight train when he connects.
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While he's been around for longer, Romero actually has fewer professional MMA bouts to his name (17 to Adesanya's 18), and has claimed 11 of his 13 wins by knockout. He's only been stopped once in his career, which was in 2011 before his UFC debut. Since then, his only losses have come on the scorecards.
You can find a more in-depth look at the challenger here.
If you ask anyone involved in combat sports, the toughest test is always the next one. But Romero does provide an interesting stylistic match up for Adesanya. Romero's background is in wrestling, having made the transition to MMA after a decorated career which saw him win Olympic Games silver in 2000. But that's not to say he only wrestles; quite the opposite, in fact. While his wrestling will always be a threat, he backs himself in a striking exchange and likes to fight on the front foot, pressuring his opponent.
Adesanya will go into this fight as the favourite in most people's eyes, but it could take just one mistake for Romero to put his lights out. In saying that, Adesanya doesn't make many mistakes and is one of the smartest fighters in the UFC.
UFC strawweight champion Weili Zheng welcomes a challenge from former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event. Being a championship bout, it will also be contested over five-rounds despite not headlining the card. The anticipation for this bout has been akin to that of the Adesanya v Romero fight, with fireworks expected between the two.
Jedrzejczyk has a long history in striking, with a background in muay thai and kickboxing helping her to excel in the octagon and pick opponents apart from range. She's won 16 of her 19 professional MMA bouts, with one of those losses being at flyweight – the division above. Zheng has just one career loss to her name to go with 20 wins – and boasts 10 KO/TKOs and seven submissions. Zheng's sole loss was the first fight of her career, and since then she has been on a tear. She claimed the title in an impressive performance against Jessica Andrade in China last year and will be making her first defence on Sunday.
Outside of the title fights, the welterweight clash between Neil Magny and Li Jingliang is sure to be an exciting fight, and many fans are looking forward to the return of undefeated bantamweight contender Sean O'Malley, who faces Mexico's José Alberto Quiñónez.
You can tune into the preliminary card on both Prime and ESPN from 2pm, with the main card kicking off at 4pm on Sky Arena. Yes, the main card is pay-per-view, and will set you back $39.95 if you're a Sky subscriber and want to catch it.
Alternatively, there will be a live blog at nzherald.co.nz bringing you all the action from 4pm. The main event should be live sometime after 6pm.
Adesanya ||| Romero
Age: 30 ||| 42
Record: 18-0 (14 KO/TKO) ||| 13-4 (11 KO/TKO)
Reach: 203cm ||| 187cm
Height: 193cm||| 183cm
TAB: Adesanya $1.37 Romero $2.90
New Zealand's newest UFC athlete looked comfortable in his debut win.