Nothing -- not fatigue, not a knee injury, not the physical specimen standing across from him -- was going to stop Robert Whittaker.
Whittaker laid claim to the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title with a five-round unanimous decision over Yoel Romero in the UFC 213 main event on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges saw it the same: 48-47 for “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” winner.
Romero stormed out to a two-rounds-to-none lead, as he appeared to injure Whittaker’s knee with a series of devastating side kicks in the first round before incorporating a takedown and top control in the second.