During his in-cage interview following UFC 225’s main event, Yoel Romero said he deserved the victory against Robert Whittaker, and it appears more time after the fight hasn’t changed his stance.

Romero (13-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) came up just short against UFC middleweight champ Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in Saturday’s pay-per-view headliner. He suffered a split-decision loss in a bout in which he scored two knockdowns, three takedowns and just 17 fewer signifiant strikes than his opponent.

Unfortunately for “The Solider of God,” two of three judges didn’t see it that way, and Whittaker left Chicago’s United Center with the victory.

Romero fought much of the bout with significant swelling around his eyes, and to no one’s surprise, the 41-year-old was transported to a local hospital immediately after the fight. That didn’t stop Romero from further expressing his opinion, though, and he took to Instagram Live to share more thoughts on the outcome.

“Tonight, I don’t feel that I lost,” Romero said in a video (watch it above). “I am the champ. It’s like the movie, like Rocky Marciano. Today, I am black Rocky, the people’s champ.”

UFC 225 was perhaps the most trying week of Romero’s athletic career. He missed weight for the fight with Whittaker, which left him ineligible to win the 185-pound title. Additionally, he was fined a percentage of his purse for the non-title fight and couldn’t collect his $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus, which went to Whittaker.

Romero and his team also feel they were wronged in the lead-up to fight night. After missing weight by one pound, Romero was told he would get two additional hours to hit the championship limit. He claims he was cut off early by Illinois’ athletic commission, which resulted in his final weight being .2 pounds over the strict 185-pound limit.

It’s clear Romero’s manager, Abraham Kawa of First Round Management, believes his client was wronged. And naturally, he sides with Romero when it comes to the scorecards.

“Guys, he got robbed twice,” Kawa said. “Two times in Chicago. Commission took it from him. The judges took it from him. But I’ll tell you what: As fans, as people who watch the sport for a long time, that may have been one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen in my life, and I know a lot of you guys feel the same way.

“Give it up for this man. This man did something impossible based on everything. He had a game plan, he executed the game plan, and he won that fight.”

For complete coverage of UFC 225, check out the UFC Events section of the site.