

Luke Rockhold seems excited to return to the Octagon after a long hiatus. After all, his last bout was back in 2019 at UFC 239. The fighter will soon face Paulo Costa at UFC 278. And in a new interview with ‘The Schmo’, the fighter who once dated pop star Demi Lovato, spoke about his opponent and made an unlikely equation.
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Rockhold spoke about his training and at the end of the conversation, he compared his Brazilian opponent to Caitlyn Jenner. He said, “Let’s just hope this guy doesn’t come out looking like Caitlyn Jenner, you know.”
The athlete made a similar comparison previously, too. He speculated Costa getting cosmetic procedures done as their bout was getting pushed back. That’s when Rockhold made a Jenner connection.
Costa has already received a lot of criticism for his past two fights. He went undefeated until he faced Israel Adesanya at UFC 253, where he tasted his first professional MMA loss. The middleweight experienced his second loss against Marvin Vettori.

via Imago
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – SEPTEMBER 27: (R-L) Israel Adesanya of Nigeria kicks Paulo Costa of Brazil in their middleweight championship bout during UFC 253 inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on September 27, 2020 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
However, it was his weight-cut issues during the Vettori fight that drew the most criticism. Nevertheless, Costa is a deadly force to face in the Octagon. He is known to finish most of his fights via T/KO. Hence, many fans are interested in watching how the fight between Costa and Rockhold will go.
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Rockhold is coming off two back-to-back losses. But he has been a champion at Strikeforce and the UFC. As a result, the veteran fighter has more experience on his side.
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Can Luke Rockhold win against Paulo Costa?
Rockhold has faced some of the best fighters in the promotion and even found a lot of success. However, retired UFC fighter, Chael Sonnen thinks, the Costa fight will be a tough fight.

via Getty
NEWARK, NJ – APRIL 18: Luke Rockhold celebrates defeating Lyoto Machida of Brazil by tap out in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Prudential Center on April 18, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
As reported by ‘MMA Fighting‘, Sonnen is of the opinion that the Brazilian athlete has got the right tools to defeat Rockhold. However, ‘The American Gangster’ also lauded the veteran fighter for taking up a competitive and difficult opponent. He thinks Luke Rockhold should get more credit than he does.
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Paulo Costa currently ranks number six in the middleweight division. Defeating him would mean Rockhold making a major jump in the rankings. But do you think he can do so? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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