Israel Adesanya: Yoel Romero eventually will 'crumble like the Twin Towers' at UFC 248

Israel Adesanya will look to do what no one has done in the UFC to Yoel Romero.

UFC middleweight champion Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) defends his title in the UFC 248 headliner vs. Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC), a matchup he specifically chose, to prove that he’s willing to take on the toughest comers.

Despite Romero losing three of his last four, he remains as one of the most difficult outings in the division. All three of his losses in the UFC have come by the way of closely-contested decisions, and he has shown time and time again, his ability to finish a fight at any time.

So why a potential high risk, low reward fight in Romero? Adesanya says he wants to show that Romero is human, as he attempts to be the first fighter in the UFC to dominate or take Romero out. Romero’s lone knockout loss came at the hands of Rafael Cavalcante, way back in 2011 in Strikeforce.

“He’s a guy no one wants to fight,” Adesanya said at a press conference in New Zealand. “Boogeyman, everyone keeps saying, oh – even Darren Till – ‘I’ll fight anyone except Yoel.’ Like, why? I’ve seen him get rocked. I’ve seen him get stopped. I’ve seen him get bloodied. I’ve seen him cry. I’ll make him cry.

“He’s human like anyone else, and everyone likes to make this myth about, ‘Oh, he’s steel, like kicking steel,’ or you hit him and he doesn’t fall. I’ll touch him enough times. I’ll touch him enough times and eventually he’ll crumble like the Twin Towers.”

But if it were up to Adesanya, the March 7 event in Las Vegas would play out as a 25-minute masterclass, a feat that all three people who beat Romero in the UFC weren’t able to do. Thus far, Romero has been able to inflict serious damage to his opponents, in both his wins and losses.

“Honestly, what I want from this fight, I want 5-0,” Adesanya said. “I want a washout. I want a clean sweep – kind of like what I did with Brad Tavares when I fought him. I want just like a clean sweep, but if he dies, he dies. Not really my problem.”