We can slow down the talk, for now, of Yoel Romero moving up to the light heavyweight ranks following his most recent loss to middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. The "Soldier of God" will step into the Octagon at 185 pounds for at least one more battle and he will do so against a popular, rising star within the division.
On Tuesday, the UFC announced that Romero will square off with Brazilian star Paulo Costa on Nov. 3 at the UFC 230 event set for Madison Square Garden. It was an announcement that seemingly came out of nowhere but one that will be welcome by UFC fans nonetheless seeing as this is one of the more intriguing fights the company could make for the second half of the year.
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🔥🔥🔥 MW bout added to #UFC230! @YoelRomeroMMA vs. @BorrachinhaMMA! pic.twitter.com/faq4IyPWbr
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) July 24, 2018
Not long after the announcement by the promotion, things took an interesting turn. Ariel Helwani of ESPN tweeted that while the Romero-Costa showdown is close to being finalized, nothing is set in stone just yet. He then provided an explanation as to why an official announcement was dropped on social media despite terms not being agreed upon.
Not exactly a new phenomenon, but there’s a fascinating trend in MMA lately of announcing fights before they are signed or close to finalized. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that’s often done to put pressure on a fighter to accept a fight. Not the way it should be done.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 24, 2018
Romero will look to get back on the winning track as he comes off a second loss to Whittaker that took place at UFC 225 in Chicago in one of the most brutal bouts we've seen all year. The fight was not for the middleweight championship, however, as Romero missed the required 185-pound limit for the second consecutive fight. Romero also tipped the scale a little too much prior to what was slated to be in interim title fight against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 in February.
Despite no prize being up for grabs, Romero secured the third-round KO win over Rockhold and earned the right to rematch Whittaker. Following the bout, Romero had explored a move up to the 205-pound world in an attempt to challenge Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight championship. But it seems middleweight will remain as his home base for the time being, whether he can make the weight or not.
The 27-year-old Costa has quickly become one of the more exciting fighters to watch in the UFC. The overall undefeated Brazilian is 4-0 since joining the UFC in March 2017, with his latest victory coming via second-round TKO over Uriah Hall at UFC 226 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas. Already earning some recognition for himself in the Octagon, a victory over Romero in New York would undoubtedly lift Costa up a few levels in the middleweight division.
UFC 230 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden. While not yet confirmed, it's expected another middleweight bout will take place on the card with Jacare Souza taking on David Branch.
