Olympic wrestling silver medalist Yoel Romero admitted that as a child, he wanted to do Judo because he liked the uniform better. The uniform he’s talking about is the Gi, as opposed to the wrestling singlet.
Ahead of his bout against Tim Kennedy tonight at UFC 178 he spoke to MMAjunkie Radio about growing up in Cuba, as well as his background in wrestling.
“I wanted judo because I saw a lot of movies, like karate movies. They had kimonos, and that’s what I wanted. When they said wrestling, I said no – they don’t have kimonos.
“But then the coach said, ‘You have the physique for wrestling, so believe me, wrestling is similar to judo. Do you want to see?’ I tried it.”
“I’ve always had curiosity, and I’ve got friends on the Cuban judo national team, and so I’ll go back and put on the kimono and even put on boxing gloves with my friends, but after I found wrestling, I fell in love, and that’s always been my first love.”