There are a lot of things I love about mixed martial arts. I love the diversity of styles. I love the interesting matchups. I love the depth and complexity of a chess match between two great fighters, and all that other pretentious shit.
But sometimes….. sometimes you just want to see two beefy boys swangin’ and bangin’. You want to see a couple fighters get in there and throw bombs with no regard for human life. Not everybody loves seeing a highly technical kickboxing match. Not everybody loves seeing two guys on the ground working through submissions. But EVERYBODY loves throwing some damn hands.
And as the undefeated Paulo Costa approaches his UFC middleweight title shot against real-life Tekken character Israel Adesanya, it’s impossible to think about that fight without fondly remembering his last time in the cage, a thrilling three-round war with rock golem Yoel Romero.
Yoel Romero is one of the best middleweights to never hold a world title, if not THE best. A former Olympic silver medalist wrestler, Romero got into MMA relatively late – he was already in his mid-30s when he debuted – but has for years been one of the sport’s elite. He’s a ludicrously explosive athlete with humongous power who seems to be completely impervious to being knocked out: popular legend attributes that to a neck fusion surgery early in his fighting career that some believe has made his head impossible to move even with the heaviest shots. It’s probably bullshit, but it sounds cool.
Since signing with the UFC in 2013, Romero has only been beaten by superstars: former champion Robert Whittaker, current champ Adesanya, and Costa. Beating Yoel Romero means that you’re a killer. Enter Paulo Costa, a Brazilian striker who laughs at drug tests and throws heavy leather. Costa entered the Romero fight having built some notoriety for himself – he had finished every single professional opponent he had faced, including four straight knockout wins in the UFC.
By the time the Romero fight was made, Costa has developed a reputation as an extremely promising young striker who always seemed ready and willing to throw bombs. That kind of fighter always has the inside track for earning the love of the fans. And while Romero has been in some strange bouts in his career – see his title fight with Adesanya, where the Cuban stayed in an almost comical defensive shell for five rounds and did almost nothing – there was no way there wasn’t going to be some murderous, heat-seeking bombs exchanged last August.
And from the first minute, we knew it had already delivered. Both fighters dropped each other within the first sixty seconds of the fight – throughout the contest, both Romero and Costa eat shots that could kill a horse.
But over the course of 15 minutes, Costa emerges as just a little bit better overall on the feet. He walks Romero down and while he tires late, he keeps the pressure on him. He mixes up his boxing with punishing body shots. And against a fighter with the type of sudden power that has cowed many great opponents, Paulo Costa lets his hands go freely, with no fear of God or man.
Costa had built hype with wins over guys like glass cannon Uriah Hall and washed-up ex-champ Johny Hendricks, but against a truly elite opponent, he shows why he’s so damn good. He’s big for the weight class and looks like he’s chiseled out of marble, and has one hell of a chin on him. He stays on his opponent, doesn’t let up, and maintains a high level of activity over the course of a fight.
But you have to just love a guy who’s willing to throw bombs in any situation, against anyone. This is the shit that Paulo Costa loves. And it makes for an exciting prospect against Adesanya, a truly artful striker who thrives most when someone is willing to stand and trade.
There’s a reason why Izzy-Costa is one of the most anticipated fights of the year. Rewatching Costa-Romero only makes it even more hype.
The Big Fight 