Former UFC middleweight Yoel Romero to sign multifight deal with Bellator

Former UFC middleweight Yoel Romero did not remain unsigned for long. 

ESPN's Ariel Helwani reported on Monday that Romero has agreed to a multifight deal with Bellator MMA less than two weeks after the 43-year-old was released by the UFC. 

Popular flyweight Rachael Ostovich was also recently let go by the promotion after UFC boss Dana White explained that the company was "probably gonna have 60 cuts" by the end of the year as mixed martial arts organizations continue to hold cards behind closed doors and without paying fans due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Helwani added that it's believed Romero will debut in Bellator at light heavyweight.

Romero lost in his final three UFC appearances and dropped four of his last five fights to fall to 13-5-0 as a professional. Two of those defeats came to Robert Whittaker, once when the middleweight title was on the line. Romero also fell to Luke Rockhold and, most recently, Israel Adesanya over that time. 

After he lost to Adesanya in March, Romero was set to face Uriah Hall in August. As ESPN's Marc Raimondi wrote, Romero withdrew from that contest because of an undisclosed injury.