Yoel Romero offers Israel Adesanya advice amid career struggles: 'His ego is blinding his intelligence'
Yoel Romero is living proof that no one is ever too old to do anything.
Just weeks out from his 48th birthday, Cuba's "Soldier of God" has continued to defy the odds and pick up combat sports victories well beyond most athletes' expiration dates. Meanwhile, Romero's past — and much younger — rivals like former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya are tumbling through the roughest patches of their careers.
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After Adesanya suffered his third consecutive loss this past February, Romero offered words of encouragement to "The Last Stylebender" on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show."
"I don't think his career is over," Romero said. "I have a lot of respect for Israel. He's a fantastic fighter, he's very smart, but he's possibly fighting his hardest fight right now. It's with his ego. His ego is blinding his intelligence, and that's why it's his toughest fight. What I would tell him right now, I hope he can see this, is — and I'm giving him this advice as if I'm giving it to myself — taking the second commandment of Yeshua, love others like you love yourself.
"Try to not get hurt sparring, try to not take any big hits. You need time to recover your body. His body is, like, wasted a little bit. He needs to just recover his body, get it back. He's had some strong hits, and that has diminished his neurons. When that happens, they start to lose their strength, and the body weakens. That brings a lot of insecurity in yourself. That's his biggest fight right now.
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"Take a break, take a vacation. You have to oxygenate your body," he added. "Don't think that you have to fight, fight, come back, come back. You need to just take a minute. Talk to [UFC CEO] Dana [White], ask for a little bit of time so that you can get the real Israel back. He's still in there. Live a healthy lifestyle."
Romero's UFC middleweight title bout against Adesanya at UFC 248 in March 2020 was coincidentally Romero's final fight in the promotion. The multiple-time title challenger lost a lackluster but competitive split decision against Adesanya and then parted ways for Bellator the following year.
Heading into that 2020 fight, Romero was somewhat of a controversial choice as Adesanya's challenger. Romero lost two straight bouts prior — a split decision title rematch with Robert Whittaker and a unanimous decision opposite Paulo Costa. Yet on the road to UFC 248, Romero was arguably as intense as he's ever been, delivering one of the most memorable pre-fight interviews in recent MMA history.
Speaking to ESPN, Romero maintained an unbreakable, stone-faced gaze as he answered questions, creating an infamously viral moment when he leaned forward, removed his sunglasses and exclaimed that "everything is possible in your life when you believe," before repeating, "Go. Go. Go."
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Five years later, Cuba's Romero remembers speaking directly from the soul.
"In this moment, my soul talked because I thought about everything I do in my life for this moment. Everything I take in my life," he recalled. "Many people know my history. My real history. A 12-year journey. I made a decision. I wanted to make something different in my life. I want to do my dream. I want to believe in what I'm feeling, thinking in my soul. Now that's what you want, you believe that you can, and now go. You need to go for this dream. You need to fight. You are going and fighting for your dream. This moment, I remember everything that I need to do in my life.
"You have to fight for your dreams. You have to get out of your comfort zone to get ready to fight. In that moment where I was speaking, it was my soul speaking. The best things to come out of an interview is not what you have written down on a script. It's what comes out of your soul. What you've had to fight for. That's what I transmitted to the world. No matter your situation, if you believe and you know what you're willing to do, go and do it. You're already a winner. Already a winner."
Romero most recently picked up his second straight win in Mike Perry's new Dirty Boxing Championship promotion in late March. An Olympic silver medalist in wrestling, Romero stopped Ras Hylton with strikes in the third round.
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