Costa vs. Vettori bumped up again, now at 205 pounds

Paulo Costa prepares for his middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

This weekend’s pairing between Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa is seeing another significant chan…


Paulo Costa prepares for his middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 253.
Paulo Costa prepares for his middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

This weekend’s pairing between Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa is seeing another significant change.

With a mere four days before fight night, the supposed middleweight matchup between Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa went through a significant change. Because of “Borrachinha’s” inability to make the 185-pound limit, both fighters found common ground in the form of a 195-pound catchweight.

But just when you thought everything’s been ironed out, new major developments arise. Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole got to speak with the UFC’s Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell and confirmed that the pairing will be moved up in weight again, and now take place at 205 pounds.

Costa’s last Octagon appearance happened at UFC 253 last September when he challenged Israel Adesanya for the undisputed middleweight title. He lost via second-round TKO, marking his first taste of defeat in his eight-year professional career.

Vettori also got his shot against Adesanya in a rematch at UFC 263 in June and lost via decision to snap a five-fight win streak.

Vettori and Costa are still slated to headline this weekend’s UFC Vegas 41 event at the APEX.