Paulo Costa injured, Yoel Romero calls for Anderson Silva clash in January:
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| Yoel may open as a considerable favourite based on activity alone. |
Once again, a reported Middleweight clash between perennial contender Yoel 'Soldier Of God' Romero and rising challenger Paulo 'The Eraser' Costa has fallen out. Both behemoths at 185lbs were scheduled to meet at the recent UFC 230 event in Madison Square Garden, with Cuban wrestler Romero opting to recover from multiple injuries sustained against Robert Whittaker, leaving the undefeated Belo Horizonte native without a dance partner in New York. The promotion were believed to have eyed an eventual clash between the pair at their premier ESPN+ 1 event on the 19th of January in the new year, but Paulo Costa has picked up an injury, ruling him out of the expected headlining slot.
Romero sustained a nasty broken orbital bone in his rematch with current Middleweight best Robert Whittaker in the second round of their back and forth clash, and after yet another botched weight cut to 185lbs, the now 41 year-old former Olympian was widely expected to make the leap to a more comfortable home of 205lbs, with a clash alongside Alexander Gustafsson momentarily suggested for an Interim crown at UFC 230 failing to materialize. Romero has seen weight issues prevent him from clinching a UFC title on multiple occasions, namely his UFC 221 Interim Middleweight title knockout win over Luke Rockhold and his UFC 224 split decision loss to Whittaker in which many had the Pinar del Rio favourite narrowly edging out the Aussie. In both match ups, #1 ranked Yoel failed to make weight successfully.
Fast approaching the top five of 185lbs, Paulo Costa has so far displayed unparalleled striking power at Middleweight, maybe only matched by Romero himself in his first four walks to the Octagon. The Brazilian made hard work of the hot and cold Uriah Hall in his most recent fight, eventually finishing the flashy kickboxer in the second round, earning him the #8 rank in the murderers row that is 185lbs.
In a somewhat bizarre ply to earn a fourth tilt at championship honours, the explosive Romero has issued a challenge to the iconic former division king Anderson Silva, who recently served a reduced suspension after a USADA test returned positive for hydrochlorothiazide and methyltestosterone, later discovered to be present in a contaminated substance consumed by the Curitiba counter striker, subsequently allowing him to return to active competition in November 2018. 'The Spider' last competed at the controversial UFC 208 in Brooklyn, scoring a unanimous decision win over Derek Brunson. Silva, who will turn 44 next April, has recently dropped losses to Daniel Cormier on short notice and a razor thin decision defeat to Michael Bisping, which ultimately earned the British striker his successful siege of the Middleweight crown against Luke Rockhold.
UFC Fight Night 143 takes place at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York on January 19th, and currently features a Welterweight match up between Belal Muhammed and Geoff Neal, and a Women's Flyweigth clash between prospects Paige VanZant and Rachael Ostovich-Berdon.
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