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Paulo Costa is on the verge of a UFC middleweight title shot and he won’t pass that up.
Paulo Costa is not letting anything get in the way of a UFC middleweight title shot, especially not some pesky commission concerned about his health.
The California State Athletic Commission recommended six fighters, including Paulo Costa, move up in weight following UFC 241. MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin confirmed the news with CSAC executive director Andy Foster following an initial report from MMA Junkie. The other five fighters recommended to move up are bantamweights Manny Bermudez, Brandon Davis, and Kyung Ho Kang, flyweight Sabina Mazo, and featherweight Sodiq Yusuff. All six fighters entered the cage at least 15 percent heavier than their weigh-in weight.
The recommendation only applies should the fighters again compete in California. The athletes will not be forced to move up. Instead, they will need clearance from the commission to fight at their current weight class again.
One person who has no plans in packing on the pounds is Costa. His manager Wallid Ismail shut down the idea of a move to light-heavyweight when speaking to MMA Fighting.
“It’s a recommendation, not an obligation. That’s normal and has happened to other athletes as well. He made weight super nicely, with supervision from a doctor, and was already on weight a day before the weigh-ins,” Ismail said. “To give you an idea, he had breakfast before the weigh-ins because he was under the limit. It’s all good.”
Costa weighed in at 186 pounds on Friday and re-hydrated to 213.8 pounds on Saturday. Four of the six fighters above won their fights, including Costo who took a close decision over Yoel Romero.