Credit:Joao Baptista
Credit:Joao Baptista
Credit:Joao Baptista
Shortly after manager Wallid Ismael confirmed Paulo
Costa’s withdrawal from his April 17 headlining bout against
Robert
Whittaker, the Brazilian middleweight spoke with Sherdog.com to
discuss the illness that has delayed his return to the Octagon.
Costa made it clear that his current ailment has nothing to do with
COVID-19.
“I had COVID on New Year’s. Once I didn’t have strong
symptoms I kept training,” Costa said. “I just found out it
was COVID when I decided to get tested, and by then it was longer
contagious.
”The flu I have now infected eight members from the team, including
sparring partners and trainers. That one was really strong. To tell
you the truth in my whole life only once did I have such a strong
strong flu; it was in 2015. The American filming team arrived here
to produce the weight cut and I tried to train one day, but the
following day I was totally broken. At that point I talked to my
doctor and physiologist and they advised me to postpone the fight,
because I would need at least three weeks to return to normal
training, and I would not be at my best. After the fight with
[Israel] Adesanya I promised I would never fight again without
being in my best condition, so I called Wallid and asked him to
postpone the fight to May 1 or May 8.”
Costa did not hide his disappointment upon learning that Kelvin
Gastelum would replace him and face Whittaker in the UFC on
ESPN 22 headliner on April 17. However, “Borrachinha” does not have
any regrets regarding his decision to pull out of the fight.
“I returned to training this week but [competing at] 60 percent is
not ideal to fight on April 17, but for May 1 or May 8 I would be
available in my best condition,” he said.
With the Whittaker fight off the table, Costa is hoping to square
off against a ranked middleweight opponent when he is ready to
return in May. There are at least a couple options that stand
out.
“I would rather face a Top 5 [opponent]. [Jared] Cannonier or
[Jack] Hemansson — anyone that both the fans or UFC want me
to fight, I’ll be ready.”
When it comes to the rest of the 185-pound division, Costa expects
Whittaker to defeat Gastelum and Darren Till
to get by Marvin
Vettori next month. The former No. 1 contender also weighed in
on reigning champion Israel
Adesanya’s bid to become a two-division titlist against
Jan
Blachowicz at UFC 259. His assessment was not as harsh as many
observers.
“Everybody knows how I hate Adesanya, but I have to admit he fought
better than I thought,” Costa said. “My prediction was that
Blachowicz would beat him inside of five rounds.”
Costa’s animosity toward Adesanya stems the champion’s actions
shortly after finishing their headlining bout at UFC 253.
“I was out and he did something totally disrespectful to me,”
Costa said. “When I woke up, he came to talk to me like nothing had
happened — that´s a dirty attitude of a bad character. I feel a mix
of anger and contempt for this guy and when I met him, he will pay
that bill. It´s a matter of time.”