Yoel Romero out to prove age doesn't matter when it comes to the UFC title

"Soldier of God" isn't just a nickname to Yoel Romero. One of his primary goals as someone in the public eye, he says, is to pass along knowledge of God. And when you're asking him questions, just about every answer involves spirituality in one form or another.

Take his response to an inquiry about his advanced age for a UFC contender (37 years old). Romero busted out a story from the Bible.

"Time is in God's hands," he told FOX Sports through an interpreter. "In the Bible there's a parable where Abraham was very old and nobody thought he could have a child or his wife could have a child. But he had a promise with God and God gave him a child late in life."

So the UFC middleweight title to Romero is like a baby was to Abraham?

"Yes," Romero said with a laugh. "I may be one of the older ones, but that shouldn't really matter."

Romero (8-1) got a late start in MMA. He didn’t have his first pro fight until 2009, when he was 32, because the Cuba native competed in wrestling until 2007. When he meets Tim Kennedy at UFC 178 on Saturday in Las Vegas, it'll be his first real chance to get close to a title shot. Kennedy is ranked No. 6 among middleweight contenders and Romero is No. 8.

For most his age, the window would already be closed. Randy Couture was the oldest UFC champion ever at 45. Anderson Silva is second at 38. If Romero would succeed at his goal, he would probably fall somewhere in between the two of them.

Not that Romero is contemplating retirement any time soon.

"I'm just going with the flow and seeing what's in God's plans for me," Romero said. "If God doesn’t want me to fight tomorrow, I won't."

Romero has the best wrestling credentials of any fighter in the UFC today. He was a silver medalist in the 2000 Olympics and won gold at both the 1999 World Championships and the 2003 Pan American Games. But Romero's MMA game is hardly lay and pray. Seven of his eight victories have come by knockout. His latest win, over Brad Tavares at UFC Fight Night on FOX in April, was by unanimous decision and was the first time he really used his wrestling to prevail. And Romero threw the stout Tavares around like a rag doll.

An example of Romero's physical dominance over Brad Tavares from April.

Romero's brother Yoan Pablo Hernandez is the IBF cruiserweight champion in boxing and Romero has been boxing for a long time. Cuba is a hotbed for the sport.

"I've been very flexible with my training," Romero said. "I have a great passion for boxing. I have family members who are boxers."

Romero defected from Cuba for Germany in 2007 after competing in a wrestling tournament in the country. He has family in Germany and also met a woman, who is now his wife and the mother of one of his children. Romero learned the language and began his MMA career there, but he couldn't get the proper training and fights he needed, so he moved to Miami two years ago to train at American Top Team.

Miami is a great fit for Romero, because of the Cuban population and Spanish speakers. But it is not quite home. Romero left his parents and a child in Cuba when he left. His plan is to become an American citizen and bring them over one day.

"It's never going to stop hurting," he said. "It's always going to hurt."

Romero signed with Strikeforce in 2011 after smashing European competition and promptly lost his first bout to Rafael Cavalcante. He has not been defeated since, notching three straight knockout wins in the UFC before the Tavares fight. The fight with Kennedy is his biggest to date and would probably put him within one or two wins of a title shot. But he's not thinking about it any differently.

"There's a saying in Cuba that says if it's important for you to make it, it's also important for you to stay there," Romero said. "It's been a big achievement for me to make it, enjoy the moment and stay here."

Romero's style is predicated on his power, freakish strength and uncanny athleticism. Of course, the wrestling doesn't hurt. But speed and agility is supposed to be the first thing that goes with age. Not in Romero's case.

At age 37, he's the most intriguing "prospect" in the middleweight division. Imagine if he started MMA in his early 20s? Yikes.

"I wish I would have started MMA earlier, but it was out of my hands," Romero said. "It was in God's hands."