The UFC middleweight championship was taken out of the equation for the main event of UFC 225 on Saturday in Chicago, but that didn't take away championship-type efforts from both Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero. 

In the final bout of the evening inside the United Center, from basically the third round on, both Whittaker and Romero were warriors inside that Octagon, trading their best shots back and forth. In the end, when they had given all they had to give, the reigning champion Whittaker was named the winner via split decision. The fact is, though, you could have even made a solid case for Romero to have earned the victory as well. Nonetheless, it was just a fantastic battle and will be in contention for one of the best fights of the year. 

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With such an action-packed main event, fellow fighters were quick to react to the instant classic they were seeing on Saturday night.