Yoel Romero Palacio (born in April 30, 1977 in Pinar del Río

Pinar del Río

Pinar del Río is a city in Cuba. It is the capital of Pinar del Río Province.Inhabitants of the area are called Pinareños.Neighborhoods in the city include La Conchita, La Coloma, Briones Montoto and Las Ovas.-History:...

) is a Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed with Strikeforce

Strikeforce

Strikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...

 and competes in the Light Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight (MMA)

The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....

 division.

Olympic career

Palacio competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 in Sydney, representing his home nation of Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. He won the silver medal in the freestyle competition, losing to Adam Saitiev

Adam Saitiev

Adam Hamidovich Saitiev, also spelled Saytiev, is a Chechen wrestler who won gold at the 2000 Summer Olympics for the Russian Federation at 85 kg cat....

 in the finals.

Early career

Palacio made his professional mixed martial arts debut in December 2009. Over the next two years, he amassed an undefeated record of 4-0 in various promotions throughout Germany and Poland.

He won his debut via TKO against Sascha Weinpolter. He then took on Polish

Poles

thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

 standout Michał Fijałka in his second bout.
After a dominating performance, Yoel won in the third round via TKO, which was at first ruled a controversial disqualification, due to a knee on the ground thrown by Romero. In 2011, he won his next two fights via TKO in the first round.

Strikeforce

In July 2011, it was announced that Palacio had signed with the Strikeforce promotion. He made his debut against Rafael Cavalcante

Rafael Cavalcante

Rafael Cavalcante is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. He trains with Anderson Silva and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira as part of the Black House camp. He currently competes in Strikeforce, where he is the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion...

 on September 10, 2011 at Strikeforce 36. He lost the fight via KO in the second round.

Mixed martial arts record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	4–1	Rafael Cavalcante Rafael Cavalcante Rafael Cavalcante is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. He trains with Anderson Silva and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira as part of the Black House camp. He currently competes in Strikeforce, where he is the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion...	KO (punches)	Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce that served as the Heavyweight Tournament semifinals. The event aired live on Showtime. The event took place on September 10, 2011 at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio....		2	4:51	Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's... , United States
Win	4–0	Laszlo Eck	KO (punch)	Fight of the Night 2011		1	0:33	Greding Greding Greding is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 28 km southeast of Roth bei Nürnberg and 32 km north of Ingolstadt.-Geography:Greding is located in the south-eastern corner of Middle Franconia... , Germany
Win	3–0	Nikita Petrovs	TKO (retirement)	SFC 3: MMA Fight Night		1	2:58	Giessen, Germany
Win	2–0	Michał Fijałka	TKO (retirement)	IFF: The Eternal Struggle		3	4:05	Dabrowa Gornicza Dabrowa Górnicza Dąbrowa Górnicza is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland, nearby Katowice. The north-east district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of almost 3 millions... , Poland
Win	1–0	Sascha Weinpolter	TKO (punches)	Fight of the Night 2009		1	0:48	Nuremberg Nuremberg Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664... , Germany