Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and he was a four-time challenger for the UFC Middleweight Championship. As a freestyle wrestler, Romero competed at 85 kilograms, and he was the '99 World Champion (five-time medalist at the World Championships), the '00 Olympic Silver medalist, a three-time World Cup winner (six-time medalist), the '03 Pan American Games Gold medalist (bronze medalist in '99) and a five-time Pan American Champion.