Paulo Costa Says His Foot Is Swollen Into a Balloon

Paulo Costa went up against Marvin Vettori in the main event of UFC Fight Night 196. The fight was surrounded by the controversy of Costa not making weight for his middleweight bout. Because of that reason, UFC made it a light heavyweight fight.

However, the fight itself between the two fighters was brutal and amazing. Both men kept throwing big bombs throughout the fight, and that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. Costa and Vettori both landed some big bombs, but one thing stood out throughout the fight. The Brazilian fighter targeted his Italian opponent’s body. He landed a lot of brutal kicks to his midriff.

‘Borrachinha’ landed 67 body strikes, and a lot of them were big, strong kicks to the body. However, those body kicks affected Costa as well. During the post-fight press conference, he was asked how he felt physically and mentally. Costa said, “Physically I’m good, just my foot is a balloon. My foot is a balloon. I kick a lot him on his body, his head. I think maybe his left arm should be very hurt and his body as well.”

The fight was a constant back-and-forth between the fighters. They both landed some clean strikes on each other, and Vettori eventually came out victorious with a unanimous decision win.

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What’s next for Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori?

Since the fight, UFC President Dana White has talked about the event and what the future holds for both fighters. White in the press conference talked about how Paulo Costa will fight in the light heavyweight division. He said, “He’s going to have to fight at 205.”

However, White also said that there will be no punishments for Costa for missing weight. He was impressed with the Brazilian’s performance and said that he fought he a** off.

As far as Vettori goes, he earned the ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus for his win against Costa. ‘The Italian Dream’ impressed everyone with his approach leading up to the fight, including the UFC president. He never tried to back out of the fight, and according to White, he’s an absolute stud, and the fight wouldn’t have happened without him. In terms of what’s next for Vettori, he’ll have to wait a bit for a title shot. According to White, the winner of Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier will be the number 1 contender.

Whatever the issues were before the fight, ultimately, the contest lived up to the expectations. Both men gave their everything inside that octagon and brought out the best in each other.

What did you make of Paulo Costa’s power? Let us know in the comments!

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