"That fight makes a lot of sense" - Chael Sonnen pleased with potential next opponent for Paulo Costa
Chael Sonnen has recently been calling for UFC middleweight star Paulo Costa to compete at light heavyweight. He is now seemingly intrigued by Costa taking on a middleweight contender in his next potential fight. In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Sonnen alluded to Costa’s recent call-out of Derek Brunson.
He also discussed Brunson labeling Costa a “heavyweight” and turning down the latter’s challenge. Brunson revealed that he’s currently working on his craft and won’t fight again anytime soon.
Sonnen suggested that not many top-tier middleweight fighters are presently available to be matched up against Costa, saying:
“Then you have Derek Brunson. That fight makes a lot of sense. However, Brunson said no. And Brunson made a very good argument. Now, Brunson may not want to fight the sumb***h for a number of reasons. It doesn’t make any bit of difference. He said no; he said it publicly, but he said why. He said you can’t make the weight class.”
Sonnen reiterated that he understands why Brunson – who was one win away from a UFC middleweight title shot – refused to fight Costa, who missed weight twice ahead of his last fight. Nevertheless, Sonnen added:
“I don’t think Paulo’s done anything wrong by calling out Derek Brunson. I actually really like that fight. I see where that makes a lot of sense. I see where that would be a big and attractive fight. I also don’t know that I could find a more attractive fight for Derek.”
Watch Chael Sonnen address a potential Costa-Brunson matchup in the video below:
Dana White on Paulo Costa’s future in middleweight division
Paulo Costa was scheduled to face Marvin Vettori in a middleweight (185-pound) bout in October. However, during fight week, Costa admitted that he’d be unable to make the middleweight limit. The fight was then rebooked as a 195-pound catchweight bout, only for Costa to later claim he can’t cut to 195 pounds.
They eventually clashed in a light heavyweight (205-pound) bout, which Vettori won via unanimous decision. UFC president Dana White subsequently emphasized that Costa would be booked as a light heavyweight fighter moving forward.
The Italian Dream gets it done at 205lbs! 🇮🇹
48-46
48-46
48-46
@MarvinVettori scores a unanimous decision victory in the #UFCVegas41 main event! 👏 https://t.co/flA0gi5Bzd
Speaking to TMZ Sports, White said:
“He (Costa) can’t (stay at middleweight). He’s already proven that he can’t make the weight, why would we go through this again? Why would we put him through that again? He’s a 205-pound fighter now, so we’ve just gotta figure out what the next move is and who he fights first in that division.”
Dana White talks about Marvin Vettori:
Neverthelrdd, Paulo Costa’s manager Wallid Ismail and Costa himself have asserted that he’ll return to middleweight rather than competing at light heavyweight.