Yoel Romero will no longer be fighting Anthony Johnson in the quarter-finals of Bellator’s light-heavyweight grand-prix on May 7th after failing a pre-fight medical.
The exact reason for Romero’s failed medical has not been revealed, but it’s been confirmed that he will given another chance to pass the medical at a later date.
“Romero will become eligible to reapply for clearance to compete in the coming months, and we look forward to seeing him make his Bellator debut in the near future,” a Bellator statement reads. “Bellator MMA will look to reschedule the highly anticipated Johnson versus Romero matchup at a future date.”
The news is a major blow for Bellator as this was considered to be the biggest match-up of the entire tournament.
Romero was a high-profile signing for the promotion last year, having only just come off a title loss against Israel Adesanya in the UFC, and despite the fact the 44-year-old had lost four of his last five fights in the Octagon, there was still a great deal of interest in seeing how he would fare in Bellator.
Nevertheless, there will still be enthusiasm from fans to see ‘Rumble’ Johnson’s return from retirement regardless of his opponent due to his past reputation for knocking out opponents, but it’s yet to be decided who he’ll now go up against.
