| UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | June 9, 2018 (2018-06-09) | |||
| Venue | United Center | |||
| City | Chicago, Illinois | |||
| Attendance | 18,117[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,550,000[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 250,000[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2 was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 9, 2018, at theUnited Center inChicago, Illinois.[3]
AUFC Middleweight Championship bout between current championRobert Whittaker and former interim title challenger (as well as2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world champion infreestyle wrestling)Yoel Romero served as the event headliner.[4][5] The pairing previously met in July 2017 atUFC 213 with Whittaker winning the interim title via unanimous decision.[6]
However at the weigh-ins, Romero initially weighed in at 186 pounds, 1 pound over the middleweight limit for a title fight. Romero was given additional time to make weight, but he weighed in at 185.2 pounds. The commission initially gave him an additional 2 hours, but after an hour Romero was made to stop cutting weight, and the bout proceeded as a non-title contest. He was fined 30 percent of his purse, which went to Whittaker.[7]
An interimUFC Welterweight Championship bout between formerUFC Lightweight ChampionRafael dos Anjos andColby Covington (initially linked toUFC 224 a month earlier) served as the co-main event.[8]
Rashad Coulter was scheduled to faceAllen Crowder at the event. However, on May 12, it was announced thatChris de la Rocha has replaced Crowder for undisclosed reasons.[9]
Bobby Green was scheduled to faceClay Guida at the event. However, on May 29, Green suffered an injury on his right knee and was replaced byCharles Oliveira.[10][11]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Robert Whittaker (c) | def. | Yoel Romero | Decision (split) (47–48, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Welterweight | Colby Covington | def. | Rafael dos Anjos | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Women's Featherweight | Holly Holm | def. | Megan Anderson | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–26, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Tai Tuivasa | def. | Andrei Arlovski | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | CM Punk | vs. | Mike Jackson | No Contest (overturned) | 3 | 5:00 | [c] |
| Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Heavyweight | Curtis Blaydes | def. | Alistair Overeem | TKO (elbows) | 3 | 2:56 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Cláudia Gadelha | def. | Carla Esparza | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Mirsad Bektić | def. | Ricardo Lamas | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Chris de la Rocha | def. | Rashad Coulter | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:53 | |
| Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Anthony Smith | def. | Rashad Evans | KO (knee) | 1 | 0:53 | |
| Flyweight | Sergio Pettis | def. | Joseph Benavidez | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Charles Oliveira | def. | Clay Guida | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 2:18 | |
| Featherweight | Dan Ige | def. | Mike Santiago | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:50 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[14]
On July 7, 2021, it was announced that the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation overturnedMike Jackson's unanimous decision win againstCM Punk to a no contest due to a marijuana positive test on fight night. He was officially suspended for three months retroactive to the date of the fight. The decision wasn't reported publicly until July 2021.[12]
