According to Luke Rockhold, Paulo Costa might not be ready to fight him at UFC 277.
Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Costa are scheduled to square off July 30 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, but the former UFC middleweight champion revealed that their fight may get rebooked to a later date.
“He’s trying to delay the fight again to August 20,” Rockhold told Submission Radio. “This guy is … something’s going on behind the scenes. I don’t know what you’re doing over there, Caitlin. …
“The contract was signed, and now he’s trying to move it again, making room for all these detailed things that he’s working on. Maybe a new booty?”
Rockhold, who hasn’t competed since his knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz in July 2019, has seen his return delayed on multiple occasions and is starting to get really frustrated.
“We wanted July 2, and then I think he had his first surgery,” Rockhold said. “And then there’s July 30, and then I think he’s on his second or third, and then they want to go to August 20. That’s all I’m hearing right now.”
He continued, “This is the last straw. I mean, the UFC wants it, I want to fight, I love it, I love the fight, but I ain’t gonna wait any longer, and I’ll be ready if something else happens otherwise to somebody else, too. So, I’m in training, I’m working, nothing’s changing, and I’m just getting better. I’m just getting f*cking better everyday.”
Costa (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Marvin Vettori this past October in the UFC Fight Night 196 headliner, a fight that took place at light heavyweight after Costa had issues making the middleweight mark.
Rockhold likes the matchup with former title challenger Costa but is starting to question his professionalism and if he’s mentally ready to fight him.
“I think he wants to fight. I just think he’s just worried about weight and coming back after two losses and like, this is when you find out who the f*ck you are,” Rockhold said. “You lose, and you come back. You know, you have all the confidence in the world when you’re winning, but when you get shook, you get shook. And so let’s see what you’ve f*cking got. This is when the real fighters come out. This is when the men come out, and he’s proven that he’s just a f*cking boy.”
Luke Rockhold rips ‘f*cking boy’ Paulo Costa for allegedly trying to delay UFC 277 fight