Dana White claims that former opponents of Yoel Romero have said hitting him was like “hitting a piece of concrete”.

Romero is widely considered to be one of the most terrifying competitors in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today, and potentially in all of mixed martial arts. At the age of 42 he still seems to possess an insane natural ability and speed that defies all forms of logic at this level.

During a recent interview ahead of Romero’s UFC Middleweight Championship clash with Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 this weekend, UFC president Dana White added some perspective on what it’s like to be in the cage with the “Soldier of God”.

“I think the fascinating thing about when you talk about Yoel Romero, and losing these fights, is that when you talk to the guys he fought, let them tell you the story of how the fight played out,” White said (video via Las Vegas Review-Journal) Every time they hit him, it hurt them. They said it’s literally like fighting a piece of concrete, and nobody that’s ever fought him wants to fight him again. They don’t wanna fight him again. Those are the type of things that would make a guy who’s the champ say ‘I don’t need that s***’, right? He’s [Adesanya] opting to fight Yoel Romero. If you don’t like that, you’re not a fan of fighting and you probably shouldn’t watch this fight anyway.”

White is most likely referencing a 2018 comment from Robert Whittaker, who said Yoel Romero felt like he was made of steel in their rematch.

Indeed, there are very few men who would voluntarily step foot into the Octagon in order to face Romero, but as he has said many times in the past, Adesanya is eager to cement his legacy as one of the best of all time.

While simply beating Yoel Romero is going to be an achievement within itself, the hope from “The Last Stylebender” seems to be that he will finish him — something that no other man in the UFC has been able to do.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/4/2020.