Former middleweight contenders Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori are close to facing one another in rebound fights.
According to ESPN, Vettori and Costa will fight one another on October 23 during a UFC Fight Night. The UFC has all but confirmed the bout. As of now, there is no set location for the October event, but the UFC's APEX Center may end up hosting the fight if finalized.
This will be Costa's first fight since September 2020, when he lost to Israel Adesanya via TKO for the UFC Middleweight Title. The UFC 253 matchup was a long time coming, but Costa did not last more than two rounds. The loss ended a 13-fight unbeaten streak.
This will be the third fight that will be attempted to be booked for Costa. He was supposed to face Robert Whittaker back in April but backed out due to illness. Up next was a bout with Jared Cannonier in late August, but he withdrew after claiming he never signed on for the fight.
Vettori last fought in June, losing to Adesanya for the title. The loss ended a five-fight win streak where he won four via unanimous decision.
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