Credit:Joao Baptista
Credit:Joao Baptista
Credit:Joao Baptista
Two weeks ago, Paulo Costa
told Sherdog.com
in an interview that if the fans wanted it, he’d accept a fight
against Luke
Rockhold.
Advertisement
According to Brazilian outlet
Combate.com, and confirmed with sources close to the fighters,
that bout will happen on Aug. 20. When Rockhold initially floated
the idea of a fight with Costa, the Brazilian shot it down on
social media, saying he wasn’t interested in facing an unranked
opponent. But with much of the rest of the middleweight division
being booked for summer matchups, Rockhold may have been one of the
last remaining options for Costa.
“Borrachinha” is coming off back-to-back defeats against Marvin
Vettori and Israel
Adesanya in his last two UFC appearances. The 31-year-old
Brazilian began his professional tenure with 13 consecutive
triumphs — 11 by KO or TKO — before suffering his first defeat in a
middleweight title clash with Adesanya at UFC 253.
Rockhold, 37, has not competed in three years. The former 185-pound
king last appeared at UFC 239, where he fell to Jan
Blachowicz via second-round KO in a light heavyweight affair.
His last victory came at UFC Fight Night 116, where he defeated
David
Branch via TKO in September 2017.