New York suspends Romero 60 days for jumping out of Octagon

Top UFC middleweight Yoel Romero landed a flying knee on Chris Weidman at UFC 205 and then vaulted out of the Octagon to briefly celebrate. The New York State Athletic Commission is new to MMA, but are immediately establishing themselves as no-nonsense regulators.

Kelvin Gastelum missed weight by so big a margin that he never bothered to weigh in at all. That got him a six-month suspension.

Thiago Alves missed weight by 6.6 pounds, and that got him a three-month suspension. Further, the NYSAC reports that going forward, missing the contracted weight will earn a suspension.

A number of commissions have safety prohibitions on sitting on the fence, or jumping over it. Usually, some guy in a suit gets your attention and says, “Get off the fence now.”

This time, however, the NYSAC suspended Romero for 60 days. The effect is largely symbolic – no one fights six times per year. It still sends a message. Romero will be eligible to fight on January 12.

Bisping has said he aims to fight Romero in the spring. Romero hinted that the fight could come at UFC 208.

https://twitter.com/YoelRomeroMMA/status/801054787374632960

UFC 208 will be held on January 21, 2017, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. And January 21 does come after January 12 …