Romero knocks out Machida with heavy elbow

OLYMPIC wrestler Yoel Romero has proven he has what it takes to fight for the UFC middleweight championship after producing this brutal KO.

HOLLYWOOD, FL - JUNE 27: Yoel Romero of Cuba celebrates after defeating Lyoto Machida of Brazil in their middleweight during the UFC Fight Night event at the Hard Rock Live on June 27, 2015 in Hollywood, Florida. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

FORMER Olympic wrestler and silver medalist Yoel Romero went head to head with karate specialist Lyoto Machida in the main event fight for UFC Fight Night 70.

Machida, a former light heavyweight champion who is well known for wanting to prove karate’s effectiveness in the mixed form, was pitted as the clear favourite for the fight.

However it seems his latest fight has failed to show his dominance in the UFC using his karate background.

Coming off the back of a recent loss by submission to Luke Rockhold in April, Machida went into the fight confident he could regain the reputation he had as a title holder.

“I think every fight I take is just one step closer to cementing my legacy,” Machida said.

“This is a very important fight, fighting a guy like Yoel. This is just one more fight to cementing my place in history.”

“I want to be remembered as a guy who has always respected his opponents. I want to be remembered as a pioneer that made karate effective in the UFC.”

Unfortunately for Machida, Yoel Romero came through with the victory with nearly four minutes still left in the third round.

Machida missed a front kick, putting him on the back foot as Romero appeared to be waiting for the perfect opportunity for a takedown.

That opportunity came seconds later as Romero got an underhand grapple hold on the body of Machida, tripping him and taking the wrestle to the ground.

Holding the dominant position on top of Machida, Romero landed five brutal elbows to his opponent’s jaw, knocking him out as he lay on the canvas.

The victory sees Yoel Romero qualify for UFC middleweight title contention.

Romero may have slightly tarnished his reputation after the fight however, coming out with a rather absurd string of broken English during the post-fight interview.

Wearing a sweat band embroided with the bible verse “John 3:16”, the Cuban fighter called out to the American crowd, apparently in religious opposition to the recent passing of the marriage equality bill.

“What happened to you USA?” Romero said.

“Wake up USA, go for Jesus, don’t go for gay Jesus people.”

RT FOXSports "Yoel Romero beats Machida and then proceeds to scold the United States for believing that #LoveAlway… http://t.co/9hgLxhjxdd"

— Tommy Mason (@tommymason006) June 28, 2015

Somewhere down the line it seems Romero got the octagon confused with a stage on which anyone cares to hear his opinion on marriage equality — if that place exists at all.