Pick up the phone - Luke Rockhold continues to call out Paulo Costa
Luke Rockhold's campaign for a bout against Paulo Costa continues as the former UFC middleweight titleholder issues another call-out toward the Brazilian fighter.
Most recently, Rockhold posted a photo of himself and his teammates. The following caption is attached:
“Team stay ready. Pic up the phone Costa”
Rockhold’s call-outs toward Costa began during his recent interview with TMZ Sports when the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion said that he was offered a fight on July 2 during the International Fight Week. He declared that he was ready to sign the contract and called out Costa to step up and do the same.
Luke Rockhold held both Strikeforce and UFC middleweight championship gold. His last fight took place at UFC 239 back in 2019. In the second round of his light heavyweight debut, he was knocked out by the Polish fighter Jan Błachowicz.
Prior to this loss, he fought his last fight in the middleweight division against Yoel Romero at UFC 221. in an interim middleweight title bout. He was knocked out by Romero in the third round. However, the Cuban missed weight and was ineligible for the interim belt.
Paulo Costa is willing to fight Luke Rockhold if the fans want to see it
Paulo Costa has also spoken about his potential fight against Luke Rockhold. He said that it is something he desires to do, provided that fans want to see it. 'The Eraser' is looking to bounce back after two consecutive losses and believes a fight against a ranked opponent or fan favorite is the next step for him.
Speaking to Sherdog.com, the Brazilian fighter was asked who he wants to fight next and if he considered stepping into the ocatgon with the former middleweight titleholder:
"I really think Rockhold is a good name as well. He has some popularity, he's a former champion. The only problem is he's out of rank, but if the fans want this fight. It will be very good entertainment, we can do it."
Watch Paulo Costa talk about his desire to fight Luke Rockhold in 3:10 of the video below:
Paulo Costa, currently ranked No.4 in the middleweight division, made his debut at light heavyweight at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori. He lost to Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision. During the fight, he was deducted a point due to an eye poke as well.
It was Costa's second consecutive loss in the UFC. The previous one was an unsuccessful attempt to dethrone the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in 2020.