Paulo Costa, who is headlining UFC Fight Night Fort Lauderdale, says he almost got the title shot in Adesanya’s place.
“The UFC offered it to Adesanya, (and) he said ‘No, I don’t want to fight for the interim,’” Costa said on Encarada (via MMA Junkie). “Then, the UFC offered me the fight with Gastelum. I said, ‘I’ll take it.’ Then they talked to Adesanya again, and Adesanya said yes. Since I was already with (Yoel) Romero, they put Adesanya there and me with Romero.”
Costa currently sits at #7 in the UFC Middleweight Division rankings and a win over Yoel Romero in Fort Lauderdale could earn him a shot at middleweight gold.
The middleweight contender is willing to wait until the middleweight title picture is cleared up before getting a shot at the gold.
“Regardless of who wins, Adesanya or Gastelum, when they fight for the title – if it happens, that fight for the title, because there can be injuries, a lot of things can happen – but if they fight for the undisputed title with Whittaker, I believe that, beating Romero, I’ll be next,” Costa said. “I’ll be awaiting this fight.”
UFC Fight Night Ft. Lauderdale takes place on Saturday, April 27 from the BB&T Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on ESPN.
