Adesanya admits Romero bout was 'one of the most boring fights in history' and blames himself

Israel Adesanya has called his 2020 UFC 248 middleweight title defence against Yoel Romero “one of the most boring fights in the history of the company”, admitting in a recent YouTube breakdown that he bears as much blame as his opponent for the tepid performance.

The bout, which headlined UFC 248 in Las Vegas, saw Adesanya — then in his first reign as middleweight champion — face Romero, widely regarded as one of the division’s most dangerous contenders despite inconsistent recent form. What followed was 25 minutes of near-inaction, with Adesanya eventually claiming a decision victory that satisfied almost no one.

“I had one of the most exciting fights in the history of the planet [against Kelvin Gastelum] that’s inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, but I also had one of the most boring fights in the history of the company alongside Yoel Romero,” Adesanya said. “We’re both dangerous men — when he hit me with that zinger, I seen four in front of me, and I thought, ‘OK, he’s going to come in for the kill.’ But he didn’t.”

Adesanya explained that the mutual caution was rooted in genuine respect for each other’s power. After absorbing that early shot, he was unwilling to re-enter range and risk another, while Romero appeared equally reluctant to press forward. “He just played the game and yeah, it was a boring fight,” Adesanya said. “But he’s a dangerous man. There’s a reason he didn’t want to come close and there’s a reason I didn’t want to risk again getting hit by that zinger — so yeah, shout out to him.”

The reflection was prompted by Romero’s recent bare-knuckle boxing loss to Darren Till, which led Adesanya to revisit their shared history as part of a broader breakdown of UFC 332 — an event that has drawn its own wave of criticism.

Adesanya pushed back on claims that UFC 332 represents the worst card in the promotion’s history, arguing the real problem is a lack of compelling narratives rather than outright poor matchmaking. “People are saying it’s the worst card in UFC history,” he said. “Actually looking at the card, that might not really be the case. The only thing is that it lacks a bit of star power and also storylines.”

He pointed to fight-week content — embedded videos, countdowns, and fighter vlogs — as the machinery that transforms ordinary bouts into must-watch events. “Even though you guys want to clown WWE, you love a storyline,” Adesanya said. “Everyone likes a storyline.”

The comments offer a candid self-assessment from one of the sport’s most outspoken personalities, and a rare instance of a champion publicly acknowledging a performance that fell well short of his own standards.