UFC middleweight Paulo Costa took to Twitter following the news that he was out of his fight against Jared Cannonier. ESPN was the first to report that the former title challenger wouldn’t be facing Cannonier on August 21. Kelvin Gastelum would be stepping up in place of Costa and taking over much like he did when Costa pulled out against Whittaker.
In the wake of the aforementioned news, Paulo Costa revealed to fans that the UFC prematurely announced his booking against Cannonier. Furthermore, he said that he was looking for more lucrative pay-outs when it came to main event bookings. It seems as though Paulo Costa and the UFC have certain things to iron out before he steps back into the cage.
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UFC needs to pay me as main fighter to have fighting in main events.
Youtubers are showing all disgrace on this business.— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) June 5, 2021
Just to be clear. I never signed or locked up that contract. Why ufc announced this fight if didn’t signed? My question too
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) June 5, 2021
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The middleweight division: An overview
The 12-1 Brazilian power puncher is coming off a rather lopsided defeat in his title fight against Israel Adesanya. ‘The Last Stylebender’ brutalized Costa from pillar to post and earned a TKO in the second round. There was plenty of bad blood between both combatants and it came to a head right after the contest.
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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)
Following the loss, Paulo Costa called for a rematch. However, his performance against Adesanya didn’t warrant one in many fans’ eyes. Not to mention, there is a long line of contenders, led by Robert Whittaker, waiting to get a show at ‘Izzy’. With two marquee bouts being canceled it seems as though Costa will be at the back of the line.
As for the newly scheduled bout between Cannonier and Gastelum, both men are in need of a win. They both lost to Robert Whittaker in a rather dominant fashion and maintain pole position in the middleweight division is hard. There’s a lot on the line for the winner as they’ll find themselves right back in the mix.
Israel Adesanya has his hands full now that he’s made his way back to the UFC’s middleweight division. His first order of business is taking care of Marvin Vettori, who is coming into the rematch with a chip on his shoulder. As it stands, the 185-pound division is arguably one of the most stacked weight class in the promotion, period.
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