Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori won’t fight at middleweight at UFC Fight Night 196.
On the media day, three days before the fight, Costa revealed he won’t be able to make the 185 pound limit for his fight against Vettori. However, the former UFC title challenger was confident that the fight will happen, but at catchweight.
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In the press conference, ‘Borrachinha‘ said, “My weight right now is 96 kilos (211 pounds). What happened yesterday, Wallid talked with some people with him, Ali, his manager I think, and it’s not on the schedule to make 185 (pounds) anymore. It’s another weight above that. I’m not exactly which weight yet.”
Costa tried to put the onus on Vettori at the presser and said the fight will go through only if the Italian fighter wants that.
Marvin Vettori was the first one to highlight that Costa was having trouble with his weight. He also said that Costa has to do some weight cut. But he thinks his opponent needs to suffer a bit in making weight.
Fight to take place at catchweight
After the media day, both fighters did an interview with Brett Okamoto, in which they agreed to have the fight at 195 pounds. As per the UFC officials, the fight will happen.
Brett Okamoto tweeted, “Per UFC officials, the plan is to move forward with Costa vs. Vettori at a catchweight. No specific weight to report just yet.”
Per UFC officials, the plan is to move forward with Costa vs. Vettori at a catchweight. No specific weight to report just yet.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 21, 2021
Costa and Vettori, both are coming into this fight after losing to the UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. The Brazilian fighter, who last fought at UFC 253, is making his return after 13 months. The #2 ranked middleweight would be looking to impress and push for another title shot.
Meanwhile, the Italian, who went up against the champ at UFC 263 in June 2021, lost the fight via a unanimous decision. Getting a win against a top 2 fighter in the division will surely help the fifth-ranked fighter fight for the title again.
However, it will be interesting to see how things unfold with this matchup. Will a win for either of the fighters make a difference at middleweight since they are proceeding with the fight at catchweight?
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