8 Times Fighters Won When They Should Have Been DQ'd
5. Yoel Romero Fails To Get Off His Stool In-between Rounds
The Cuban Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero is something of an enigma in professional fighting.
Having only started training in the sport of MMA after turning 30, the distinguished wrestler has gone on to have an incredible career in the UFC, becoming one of the most feared men at 185lbs in the process.
What makes Romero so fascinating, however, is his propensity for being involved in truly strange fights, though none more unusual than when he took on Tim Kennedy at UFC 178.
After enjoying considerable success during the early going, Romero had started to tire towards the end of the second round allowing Kennedy to begin to turn the tide. With the bell fast-approaching, Kennedy landed a volley of uppercuts straight on Romero's chin while illegally holding on to his glove that went unpunished.
Things would only get stranger as the round ended.
Romero's corner poured a considerable amount of water on their fighter, allowing the exhausted Cuban to take an extended break on his stool.
While Kennedy protested that the fight should be stopped as Romero had technically failed to answer the bell, referee John McCarthy made Romero's corner dry their fighter off before the third round could begin.
Rejuvenated from his prolonged break, Romero immediately turned on the pressure in the final round and finished Kennedy via TKO just a minute later.