LAS VEGAS — On paper, the middleweight title bout between champion Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero that headlines UFC 248 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday is the classic MMA match that pits a boxer versus a wrestler.
Adesanya compiled a sterling 75-5 record as a kickboxer before committing full time to mixed martial arts. Romero won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, placed fourth in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, and has five victories over gold medalists in his career.
But wrestling is such a minute part of Romero’s MMA game that this bout is really more of a striker-vs.