It seems like everyone wants to see Luke Rockhold make his UFC return against Paulo Costa. The two have been talking a lot of trash to each other and it's clear there is some beef there.
Despite any beef, Paulo Costa doesn't actually want to fight Luke Rockhold next. It seems the UFC wants to make the fight happen but he's not too keen on the matchup. The Brazilian spoke about it recently in an interview with AG Fight.
“Luke Rockhold has shown an interest in fighting me, but he’s not ranked. I don’t know if that would be the best option. That’s unfortunate, because if he were ranked, that would be a great fight. I don’t think it’s too smart to fight someone who’s not ranked. The rankings are the foundation for everything. The UFC offered me this fight. They have the obligation to do so. It’s in the contract. They offered me Rockhold. I didn’t dismiss it entirely. I said I’d prefer to face someone ranked. Worst case scenario, if there’s nobody else, we fight.”
The key for Paulo Costa to want to take the fight is where Luke Rockhold factors into the UFC middleweight rankings. If the American has a good number next to his name, then the Brazilian would be happy to make the fight happen.
“If he comes back to the rankings, then I’d take the fight. He’s popular, especially in America. That’s a pro. Him not being ranked is a big con. Let me give you an example. Gilbert Burns was the number-two guy and he gave Chimaev an opportunity. He lost. Now where is Burns going? Which spot? Is he going to drop many spots? He’s already down to number four. He might drop more. So fighting an unranked guy is even worse.”
