Yoel Romero is one of the most impressive specimens in the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). His opponents have previously added that fighting Romero was a nightmare due to his insane durability. During his two bouts against the former UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker at UFC 213 and UFC 225 respectively, Romero battered Whittaker badly. While the opponents inside the Octagon do not scare him, Romero is, however, scared of heights!
His acrophobia first came to notice in a 2018 video when the former UFC fighter visited the SkyDec (Sears Tower) in Chicago. Along with his manager Ibrahim Kawa, Yoel visited the building which is reportedly 1,353 ft or 412 meters tall. It gives the spectators a breathtaking view of the entire city. But, upon their visit to the building in 2018, Romero had no intentions of walking to the edge of the building protected by glass. Instead, he was looking for a way out!
As soon as he judged the height he was standing on, fans could see Yoel Romero becoming squirmish! A little girl was also present at the scene who cheered him on as well! However, Romero had to click a picture from the glassed box. Ultimately, he did make it to the edge to click the photo with the help of Kawa. The entire room burst out in cheers for him as he completed the task.
Yoel Romero canceled his Bellator 297 Media appearance due to his fear of heights
Yoel Romero (15-6) is known as the Soldier of God. During his time in the UFC, Romero was definitely among the best middleweight fighters in the world. He went toe to toe with both the current middleweight champ Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, and almost came close to beating them. However, UFC parted ways with him after Romero lost 3 back to back fights.
His last UFC fight was against Adesanya which he lost via a controversial unanimous decision. Since then, he has moved to Bellator where he lost to Phil Davis in his first bout in September 2021. Afterward, he bounced back with two big wins against Alex Polizzi and Melvin Manhoef. He was scheduled to fight Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 297 for the Bellator Light Heavyweight title.
Ahead of the bout, Romero finally revisited the incident from 2018. Speaking to The Schmo, Romero added, “Come on brother, you know, many people see the video that I do before, it’s a scare for me. I so sorry, but (it’s the only thing that’s gonna beat me).” But not just heights, Romero is also claustrophobic as well.
The Schmo asked the question after the 46-year-old apparently refused to face off against his opponent, Vadim Nemkov, at the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago. And why did he do so? Obviously because of his acrophobia. But Yoel is not the only one, UFC President Dana White is also afraid of heights, which was caught by UFC cameras in 2020.
In February of that year, White traveled to Honolulu for UFC programming. During that, Dana went for cliff diving with former UFC fighter Rachel Ostovich. But, despite everybody involved in the program making the jump without an issue, the UFC President himself could not do it. While there has been animosity between Romero and White over the years, it seems like both have found their common enemy, which is the fear of heights!