UFC 221 Title Fight Changed After Yoel Romero Misses Weight, Mark Hunt On His UFC Future, More
- On the third episode of UFC 221 "Embedded," Luke Rockhold gets in some training while getting settled in to his new surroundings in Australia. Rockhold faces Yoel Romero for the interim UFC middleweight title Saturday night live from the Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia.
The behind-the-scenes series also shows Romero working in his camp, Mark Hunt and Tai Tuivasa visiting an Aboriginal cultural center and more from the fighters.
As a reminder, Wrestling Inc. will bring you coverage of Saturday's card live and free.
- Mark Hunt, who faced off with Brock Lesnar back at UFC 200 and lost a decision that was overturned to a no-contest after Lesnar failed his drug test, will leave the UFC upon the completion of his current deal. Hunt has three fights remaining on his contract, including one Saturday night at UFC 221 vs. Curtis Blaydes.
"After the three fights with the UFC, I'd like to fight globally three more times and then retire," he told MMAjunkie. "Hang it up. I want to go out there in my best shape ever and compete. I feel like I can compete still with these young guys, even though they're half my age."
The 43-year-old Hunt fought Fabricio Werdum for the interim UFC title back in 2014, falling via second round TKO. He holds wins over the likes of Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, former UFC champion Frank Mir, Roy Nelson and most recently Derrick Lewis during his career.
- Yoel Romero missed weight Friday for his main event bout and will not be allowed to win the interim middleweight title. Romero and Luke Rockhold will still fight in the main event of UFC 221, but only Rockhold can win the belt.
Romero weighed in at 188 pounds – three pounds over the limit for title fights – and cut only to 187.7 on his second try three hours later. Rockhold, a former champion, was successful on his first attempt, hitting the scales at 185.
Complete weigh-in results are below:
MAIN CARD (PPV/10 p.m. ET)
* Luke Rockhold (185 lbs.) vs. Yoel Romero (187.7) for interim UFC middleweight championship
* Curtis Blaydes (255.5) vs. Mark Hunt (265)
* Cyril Asker (243.5) vs. Tai Tuivasa (263.5)
* Li Jingliang (170) vs. Jake Matthews (170.5)
* Tyson Pedro (205) vs. Saparbek Safarov (204.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1/8 p.m. ET)
* Damien Brown (156) vs. "Maestro" Dong Hyun Kim (156)
* Israel Adesanya (183) vs. Rob Wilkinson (186)
* Jeremy Kennedy (145) vs. Alex Volkanovski (145.5)
* Jussier Formiga (126.15)+ vs. Ben Nguyen (125.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/6:30 p.m. ET)
* Mizuto Hirota (156) vs. Ross Pearson (156)
* Teruto Ishihara (135.5) vs. Jose Quinonez (135)
* Daichi Abe (170.5) vs. Luke Jumeau (170.5)