So much for Yoel Romero moving up to light heavyweight.
Earlier today (July 24), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced a surprising match-up. Number one ranked UFC middleweight Yoel Romero will go one-on-one with prospect Paulo Costa. The bout will take place inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 3. It’ll be held on the UFC 230 card.
Check out the announcement:
??? MW bout added to #UFC230! @YoelRomeroMMA vs. @BorrachinhaMMA! pic.twitter.com/faq4IyPWbr
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) July 24, 2018
This puts a halt to talks of Romero moving up to the light heavyweight division, at least for now. Romero missed weight for back-to-back title bouts and had been considering moving up a weight class. “The Solider of God” called for a bout with two-division champion Daniel Cormier, but was shut down.
Costa sits at the eighth spot and has garnered a professional mixed martial arts record of 12-0. While he’s defeated the likes of Johny Hendricks and Uriah Hall, Romero will be Costa’s biggest test by far. It’s the old sink or swim scenario as a victory for Costa would likely get him on the fast track to a title shot.
The only other fight set for UFC 230 at the moment is another middleweight clash between Jacare Souza and David Branch. Yet another 185-pound match-up is being worked on as Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold are in negotiations for a rematch.
What do you think of Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa?
