Yoel Romero takes aim at Israel Adesanya after UFC 248 defeat: 'You want to see running, go see Usain Bolt!'

Yoel Romero accused Israel Adesanya of running from him after their lacklustre UFC 248 title showdown in Las Vegas.

Adesanya retained his middleweight title after securing a clean sweep of the judges' scorecards in his first successful title defence since winning the belt last October.

The bout was a forgettable affair however with the Las Vegas crowd showing their displeasure throughout - particularly having been treated to a true fight of the year candidate between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk in their strawweight title contest earlier in the night.

Romero landed some stiff shots early in the first round but failed to put the champion under real pressure and do enough to convince the judges.

Adesanya, one of the most spectacular strikers in UFC, also failed to impress with Romero accusing the champion of avoiding the action - advising anyone interested in such tactics to instead go watch a video of sprint legend Usain Bolt.

He said in his post-fight interview: “The people wanted to see a real fight, really out on a limb. That’s what the people want to see. He was running and running and running. That’s not a big champion. The big champion needs to stay here in the middle and fight like a real champion.

“The people want to see the good fight, not like this… You want to see running, go see Usain Bolt.”