Paulo Costa will finally get his chance to fight for the UFC Middleweight title. The Brazilian fighter has had to wait a long time since earning the shot by beating Yoel Romero at UFC 241. On the night, ‘Soldier of God’ hilariously managed to trick ‘Borrachinha’ to look away. However, in retrospect, all he may have done was get Costa even more charged up.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

‘Borrachinha’ admitted that his opponent had succeeded in tricking him. He said, “He heard and he point, put the finger, look this. I look and when I look for him again, he punch my face. Yes, I duck down and come back.”

Paulo Costa overcomes hilarious troll at UFC 241

The incident took place just around the one minute mark in the first of three rounds. Here, Costa connected with a left and had Romero on all fours. ‘Soldier of God’ grabbed hold of the Brazilian fighter’s ankle. As ‘Borrachinha’ went down to inflict more punishment, Romero swiftly rose and staggered to the Octagon fence. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Costa too rose and closed in again. Here, Romero pointed to his right and ‘Borrachinha’s left. To his credit, Costa did not turn his face completely, but a mere glance may have caused him to miss his punch. 

ADVERTISEMENT

‘Soldier of God’ took advantage and connected with a right hand to send Costa to the canvas. He bounced back up and Romero tried to tackle him. As the audience erupted, both fighters fell and tried their best to hurt each other and land more significant strikes. 

Yoel Romero’s efforts on the night resulted in him being the first and to date the only fighter to take Paulo Costa the distance. He went down via unanimous decision, however, he turned out to be the one to benefit. This is because the Brazilian suffered a bicep injury and couldn’t fight Israel Adesanya at the start of 2020. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Romero took the fight and went down to ‘The Last Stylebender at UFC 248. The event was the UFC’s final PPV offering with fans in the arena. 

What did you make of Yoel Romero’s spur of the moment idea to hoodwink Paulo Costa? Should he have done more with the ensuing punch following the troll?

“Don’t Let the Media Fool You” – Israel Adesanya Shares WhatsApp Screenshot

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

Written by

author-image

Reubyn Coutinho

1,037 Articles

Reubyn Coutinho is the Head of Fact-Checking Initiatives and Content Quality Lead at EssentiallySports, where he oversees editorial quality across multiple sports verticals. A Communication graduate, he’s spent over five years shaping the site’s evolution from a niche sports blog into an all-in-one news platform, mentoring more than 110 journalists, introducing data-driven article improvements, and developing editorial guidelines for global audiences. Across his career at ES, Reubyn has worked as a writer, editor, and senior editor, covering everything from UFC, WWE, and boxing to F1, NFL, NBA, and tennis. His bylines include exclusive interviews with former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Miesha Tate, as well as combat sports stars Marcus Almeida and Sage Northcutt. Known for his meticulous eye, he regularly resolves headline debates, revisits trending pieces using live analytics, and sets the standard for high-quality sports reporting. Outside of sports media, Reubyn is an active film critic, contributing reviews and festival coverage to Netflix Junkie, where he’s covered events such as MAMI, Venice, and NYAFF. Whether he’s breaking down a championship fight or a Hitchcock classic, his work comes with deep research with a pure love for sport.

Know more