Paulo Costa has no problem waiting for Yoel Romero to heal up, meaning he’s off the UFC 230 card as well.
UFC 230 has been building up a solid crop of middleweight match-ups, but one of those has fallen by the wayside. Earlier this week, news broke that Yoel Romero was off the card. But before you start wondering who the UFC might tap to replace him against Paulo Costa, think again. Costa has now told Brazil’s Combate that he’s willing to wait for Romero.
“It looks like he wants more time to train, to be ready for our fight,” Costa said (via MMA Junkie). “But this fight will happen. I’ll wait for him to return. I’ll give him the time he needs to train. The time he finds necessary to be ready for our fight. And I’ll wait. This fight should happen early next year, 2019.”
Romero last fought in June at UFC 225, where he faced Robert Whittaker for the second time. Though the undisputed 185lb title was to be on the line, Romero missed weight for the fight. And despite some big moments in the bout, Romero wound up on the losing end of a split decision.
Having missed weight for a second straight fight (he also missed the mark for his short-notice scrap against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221), most expected Romero to try out light heavyweight. Instead, it seems ‘The Soldier of God’ plans to stick around middleweight for the time being. And will have Costa waiting upon his return.
