Yoel Romero guarantees Darren Till is in for a rough night.
The veteran combat sports star is uber confident he'll not only get his hand raised against Till but he'll also put him away despite his well-known durability. Romero and Till, two former UFC title challengers, headline BKFC 94 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England on Sept. 26.
Paddy Pimblett famously said, "Scousers don't get knocked out," but Romero thinks that won't apply at BKFC 94.
"Yes, of course I'm finishing him," Romero told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. "Of course, I'm finishing. I'm finishing him. I'm finishing him."
Romero previously told MMA Junkie he intends to fight until he turns 52. Being 49, he's treating his final career chapter as an Olympic cycle like he used to do
representing Cuba in his wrestling days. Because Romero is trying to close out with as much as success as possible, he's made sure everything is dialed in. Fans got a glimpse of his intensity a few weeks back when he had a nearly four-minute faceoff with Till.
Romero lost a unanimous decision in a bareknuckle boxing bout under IBA in Russia this past March – something he's embarrassed about and vows to never happen again.
"I wasn't there. I wasn't there," Romero said looking back at his viral staredown. "It's not good to say it, because I'm a man of God, but if you ask me, I have to be sincere with you. I feel bad about what happened in Russia, and I am not letting that happen again. I'm not letting that happen again, and we've taken the necessary precautions so that that doesn't happen again. When I was there, in front of him, I was thinking about what I was feeling when I was returning from Russia. I'm not going to Manchester to do a St. Petersburg, no. That's not happening. I made sure of that, and I'm still making sure of that. I told you at Gamebred, this is my final Olympic cycle. Go look at what happened in my last Olympic cycle. Go look it up. I'm back with the same discipline and same dedication. I told you I'm retiring at 52, and at the top."
"The Soldier of God" revealed the fight with Till is a one-fight deal with BKFC. He could fight more for the promotion, but he's trying to prioritize activity, which he finds to be more attainable when he's not tied to a specific promotion.
"I said I was going to retire at 52 unless my creator tells me, 'Your time under the lights is over,'" Romero explained. "If God tells me it's time to go, it's time to go. That's the only way I'd leave this dream, this goal of fighting until 52. This is my last run. I said it when I fought at Gamebred. I'm taking this with all the tenacity, discipline I've ever had. The fight against Darren Till is part of the end of this final Olympic cycle. Now, as far as BKFC, it's all negotiable. I don't see myself marrying a company or committing to a company – not BKFC, not IBA, no one. I want to be able to have work mobility, and also that way I can make sure I'm active. I want to finish this final Olympic cycle well, and that's with a lot of movement throughout the year. I've been working hard. I'm in really good form, and I thank God for allowing me to do things well."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Yoel Romero: 'Of course I'm finishing' Darren Till at BKFC 94
