Yoel Romero secured a devastating 70-second knockout victory over Alex Nicholson in Jorge Masvidal's bare-knuckle MMA promotion. The 49-year-old Romero executed a double-leg takedown before delivering a brutal blow to Nicholson's jaw that broke it, forcing the 35-year-old to tap out. Romero's performance demonstrated he remains a dangerous fighter despite his advanced age. Nicholson's record stands at 22-17 in MMA according to available data.
Yoel Romero, the 49-year-old former UFC middleweight title contender, stopped Alex Nicholson in just 70 seconds inside Jorge Masvidal's bare-knuckle MMA promotion, delivering one of the more stunning performances of his career on May 2, 2026.
Romero, nicknamed "Soldier of God," carries a professional MMA record of 13-5 and competes out of American Top Team. The southpaw stands six feet tall with a 73-inch reach. Fighting at nearly 50 years old, Romero showed no signs of diminished finishing ability, using a double-leg takedown — he averages 1.57 takedowns per 15 minutes over his career — to bring Nicholson to the ground before landing a single devastating blow to the jaw that broke it and forced an immediate tapout.
Nicholson, known as "The Spartan," holds a 7-4 record and fights out of American Top Team Orlando. The 36-year-old American is a physically imposing presence at six-foot-four with a 77-inch reach. An orthodox striker, Nicholson averages 4.12 significant strikes landed per minute with 43 percent accuracy, but he had no answer for Romero's grappling-driven attack on this occasion.
Why it matters
- Romero remains a legitimate finisher at 49, a remarkable outlier in professional combat sports
- The result raises his profile within Masvidal's bare-knuckle MMA promotion and signals continued competitive viability
- The matchup pitted two American Top Team-affiliated fighters against one another, with Romero's superior takedown game proving decisive against a striker in Nicholson
