Joe Rogan looks on during UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Florida, inset mystery icon and throwback banner. Credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images

Ex-UFC star who Joe Rogan called the ‘freak of all freaks’ suffered his only KO loss to a foe that went 2-4 in the UFC

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Kyle Dimond | Last updated Sep 10, 2025 1:39 PM ET

Joe Rogan has seen some remarkable athletes compete in MMA but there’s one that stands out.

Rogan recently claimed that Khabib Nurmagomedov shouldn’t have been undefeated when he retired due to his controversial win over Gleison Tibau.

‘The Eagle’ stepped away in 2020 with a perfect record of 29-0, a feat that is going to be incredibly difficult for anyone to replicate.

While the former UFC lightweight champion was one of the greatest we’ve ever seen, the promotion’s long-time color commentator believes there is another fighter who could have also remained undefeated.

Rogan has spoken very highly of Yoel Romero in the past, arguing that the former UFC boogeyman could have been even scarier if he’d started MMA at a younger age.

Photo By Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Yoel Romero was stopped by Rafael Cavalcante in his Strikeforce debut

On this day in 2011, Yoel Romero competed in his fifth pro fight as a mixed martial artist after stopping all four of his previous opponents.

This run had seen the ‘Soldier of God’ get signed to Strikeforce, who hosted the semi-final stage of their heavyweight Grand Prix in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The immediate hype surrounding Romero’s potential in MMA booked him a light heavyweight bout against one of the top names in the division, Rafael Cavalcante.

Cavalcante had lost the world title earlier that year to Dan Henderson and was looking to bounce back by taking out a new arrival.

While Romero obviously improved throughout his career, his fighting style remained somewhat similar, with the Cuban doing a lot of moving with little action, which led to a lot of booing and him being warned by the referee in the opening round.

Romero turned the pace up significantly at the start of the second round, throwing a lot at his opponent and mixing in the takedowns but after Cavalcante responded with some big shots of his own, the Brazilian dropped his foe with a spinning back fist.

Cavalcante dropped Romero for a second time moments later to hand Romero the first loss of his career and his only knockout loss to this day.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Forza LLC/Forza LLC via Getty Images

Yoel Romero and Rafael Cavalcante went on very different paths after this fight

Yoel Romero would turn things around in exceptional fashion after this defeat.

His next bout saw him enter the UFC where he won eight fights in a row before suffering his second loss to Robert Whittaker in an interim title fight.

Things didn’t work out so well for Rafael Cavalcante, who did eventually join Romero in the UFC after one more Strikeforce bout.

The former light heavyweight champion went 2-4 in the UFC, losing to the likes of Ryan Bader and Ovince Saint Preux, before he was cut from the roster in 2016.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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