Yoel Romero Wins the Civil Suit Lottery, Which Means Nothing

If ever there was a poster boy for looking like he’d fail a drug test, it’s Yoel Romero, who’s explosiveness is matched only by his unintelligible speech. But it seems like the Cuban Olympic wrestler has won the civil suit lottery, with a judgment awarding him $27 million. Time to party, right?

Here’s ESPN:

UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero has won a lawsuit against a company he accused of producing contaminated dietary supplements.

Romero, 42, won a default judgment against Gold Star Performance Products in Middlesex (N.J.) County civil court Tuesday, according to court records.

Romero failed a drug test in 2015, but UFC anti-doping partner USADA ruled in April 2016 that the dietary supplement he took from Gold Star was tainted. Romero filed his lawsuit against Gold Star in December 2017.

Gold Star never responded to Romero’s team nor the court and never defended itself against the claims of negligence, strict products liability, breach of implied warranties, intentional misrepresentation and a violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

If Romero is smart, he’s going to hold off on celebrating. In fact, it’s likely if he ever sees a dime of that judgment, it will only be a tiny fraction of the grand total. Why? Well, assuming Gold Star Performance Products has that dough–and that’s a ridiculous assumption–there’s still a bit more legal wrangling that can happen that can reduce, if not wipe away, that number.

But it’s doubtful Gold Star Performance Products can pay up anyway. Because if they could, they would’ve answered the civil summons and fought the case in court from the get-go.

So yeah, chill with that partying, Yoel. Just chill.