"You go up to 205 pounds it's a different life" - Chael Sonnen explains why Paulo Costa earning two wins at middleweight would equal "four victories"
Chael Sonnen recently claimed that two victories for Paulo Costa at 185lbs would equal having four wins.
'Borrachinha' is set to face Luke Rockhold in a middleweight contest in August. 'The American Gangster' stated that Rockhold is still relevant in the 185lbs division of the UFC. He added that a win over Rockhold and another contender would mean four victories for Costa as he will have to fight to make weight every time. While speaking on his YouTube channel, here's what Sonnen said:
"You guys are little hard on Luke. Maybe a little jealous because he's got better abs or something. You guys are little hard on Luke. Luke matters and if Paulo can get a right night against him it would set him up for something else. Why do you want to go through that struggle? If Paulo Costa can get two wins at middleweight, he just had four victories. If he's gonna beat Luke Rockhold and somebody, that's four victories. He's gonna haave to beat the scales each time as well. You go up to 205 lbs it's a different life."
Costa missed weight in his last fight against Marvin Vettori. The duo was set for a middleweight clash at the main event of a UFC Fight Night card. However, the Brazilian came in significantly overweight, and the bout had to be contested at light heavyweight.
Watch Chael Sonnen talk about Paulo Costa below:
Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold will look to snap their two-fight skids
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will make his way to the octagon for the first time since his UFC 239 knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz in 2019 in a light heavyweight bout. His last middleweight fight was against Yoel Romero at UFC 221 in 2018.
Paulo Costa will also come into the fight off two losses. He was an undefeated 13-0 prospect until he fought Israel Adesanya for the title at UFC 253, where he was defeated via TKO. His next fight against Marvin Vettori saw him lose a unanimous decision over five rounds.
Costa vs. Rockhold was initially scheduled for UFC 277 on July 30. However, the fight has been postponed and will take place on August 20. The winner of the clash could potentially find themselves close to title contention.