Two of the best middleweights around the planet are set to clash at a long-awaited bout later this spring, and I will give my first thoughts on the matchup in the present MMA odds and ends.
Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa, UFC on ESPN 3
Top-ranked middleweights Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa will clash in the main event of UFC on ESPN 3, which is set for April 27 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The bout was initially reported by Combate. It’ll be a five-round fight, it is probably the winner of this bout could be next in line to get a crack at the UFC middleweight title currently held by Robert Whittaker, who fights Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 234 in early February. (Although we need to keep Israel Adesanya in that dialog as well).
Romero (13-3) is 41-years older, but you wouldn’t know it. He is in incredible physical condition and is fighting an extremely large degree. The Cuban wrestling senstation is 9-2 overall in the UFC, with wins over the likes of Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Ronaldo”Jacare” Souza, Lyoto Machida, Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson. Seven of the UFC victories have come by knockout, and 11 total of his wins have come by knockout. He has just been stopped once in his whole career, by Rafael”Feijao” Cavalcante back in Strikeforce, also at the UFC he’s lost twice, both razor-thin decisions to Whittaker. In many ways it’s fair to consider Romero the second-best middleweight in the world behind only the Australian champion. However, with just two reductions to Whittaker, Romero is at the same spot as someone like Stephen”Wonderboy” Thompson at welterweight. With different contenders in the mix, Romero should keep active and keep winning fights in order to maybe get a third title fight against the Whittaker vs. Gastelum winner.
Costa (12-0) is a perfect 4-0 in the UFC and all his career victories have come by knockout or entry, such as brutal knockouts over Johny Hendricks and Uriah Hall in his last two bouts. The Brazilian was labeled the next big thing by many fans and press, but so far he’s still very unproven against the top echelon of this UFC middleweight division. At only 27, he is correct in his prime and proceeds to show an improved skill-set each time we see him inside the Octagon. No doubt he has looked great against lesser opposition, and when he looks fantastic against Romero and has the win he’ll be in an enviable position in regards to the middleweight title shot pecking order.
This is a superb fight, and the fact it is set for five rounds makes it even better. As far as who I prefer, I think you have to tag Romero as the favorite just based on everything he’s accomplished so far from the Octagon. And of course the fact that when this fight was initially booked for UFC 230, Romero was initially pegged as the gaming preferred before the line was shot down. Costa has looked great lately, however, and he has a 14-year age benefit in this fight, but until we see him actually beat a top man it’s difficult to say he should be preferred over any of them. Regardless of who wins the struggle, this should be a fun matchup and it is the ideal main event for the Hispanic crowd in Miami.
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