· Lew Polley In The Crosshairs Of Olympic Silver Medalist Yoel Romero

Being on “The Ultimate Fighter” usually marks a fighter for stardom. Cast members that do not make the full UFC roster typically return to the regional circuit, but are well sought after. Coaches go on to main event UFC pay-per-views. This season a new star has been born. He is not a head coach, and he is not a cast member, and he is not Dana White. He is Lew Polley, and he is also in demand, like it or not.

Polley’s demeanor and personality has rubbed a few on the show the wrong way and apparently that has not stopped since the taping of the reality show. We recently caught up with Olympic silver medalist and light heavyweight prospect Yoel Romero and Polley was all he could talk about.

According to the Cuban native, Polley has recently turned down a fight against him, and Romero is seething about it.

"Lew Polley declining to fight me [laughs], it doesn't surprise me. He knows he would lose. Using the excuse that I have too little fights [laughs], now that is ridiculous, especially coming from a guy who just lost his last two fights."

Romero (3-0) is coming off a dominating performance at March’s Superior Fighting Championship in Germany, where his opponent quit half way through the first round. Since moving from wrestling to MMA Romero claims he only wants to fight the best and reach the top of the sport as fast as possible; but, finding fights for the 34-year-old has been a difficult task, prompting his frustration. "Polley is scared. I'll go ahead and throw him in the bucket with the other MMA fighters who admit defeat before even getting in the ring with me."

Romero knows that his time in the sport is limited, and is also well aware of where he stands in the eyes of promoters and matchmakers, thus the reason for his anger at Polley’s reluctance to step in against him. "Lew Polley—I don't see him on any top-ranked lists and I'm the top light heavyweight prospect in the world."

Although the list of fighters not wanting a fight against Romero extends far beyond Polley, the likely reason for his anger in this instance would be that Romero wants more than anything to fight in North America, specifically Canada, where he acknowledges that Canada has some of the best mixed martial arts fans in the world.

When asked if he had a direct message for the current assistant coach on “The Ultimate Fighter,” Romero stated, "Lew—it's a good thing you declined to fight me—I would embarrass you in the first round. You are not even worthy of standing in the ring with the likes of me. I am an Olympian—what are you?"