Former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero flattened his opponent in Dirty Boxing Championship’s inaugural show on Saturday night.
The hybrid striking promotion was created by Mike Perry on the eve of his boxing bout with Jake Paul in July.
Romero made quick work of Crespo at Dirty Boxing Championship I[/caption]
Perry’s new combat sport mixes boxing with elbows, superman punches, spinning back fists, 5-ounce gloves and limited ground-and-pound.
Romero took on Power Slap veteran Duane Crespo in the main event in Miami and made quick work of his opponent by blasting him out in the opening stanza.
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was ringside for the contest and was caught on camera with his hands on his head and his mouth wide open as Romero connected with a fight-ending left hook.
Romero left the UFC in 2020 after failing to capture the middleweight title from Israel Adensaya.
He went on to sign with Bellator and compiled a 2-2 record with the promotion before their merger with PFL.
‘The Soldier of God’ most recently competed at the PFL vs Bellator card in February, defeating Thiago Santos via unanimous decision and is showing no signs of slowing down at 47 years old.
Romero’s participation in Dirty Boxing Championship was kept a secret until Friday when he weighed in for the heavyweight clash.
For a time, it seemed Romero vs Crespo wasn’t going ahead with Perry taking to Instagram to declare that he was stepping in to take on the Cuban MMA star instead.
“Sorry, guys. Our main event with Yoel Romero, his opponent, has been cancelled,” said Perry.
“But I am going to step in on short notice and face him tonight for the heavyweight showdown.
Yoel Romero knocks out opponent in Dirty Boxing debut and Jon Jones was impressed @DirtyBoxing_ pic.twitter.com/qqhk2Lux0p
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) November 24, 2024
Jones was left in disbelief at ringside[/caption]
“How about that f***ing action. Let’s go baby!”
In the end, though, Crespo turned up for the headliner and was knocked out early doors.
Crespo hasn’t had the best of luck in traditional combat sports with ‘The Iron Giant’ holding a 0-1 pro boxing record, a 0-1 pro bare-knuckle boxing record and a 0-2 pro MMA record.
However, he has fared considerably better on Power Slap where has won five of six contests.