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Paulo Costa wants a title after winning the biggest win of his career at UFC 241.
It was a bloody battle in all three rounds, but Costa overturned a unanimous decision against former title-winner Yoel Romero in a potential "Fight of the Year" candidate. The judges all scored 29-28 in favor of Costa, who remains undefeated in his career.
"I bring my best for this fight. I'm training like crazy. Yoel Romero is a real beast, "said Costa after the win. "I just came to take my belt. I will wait [Israel] Adesanya against [Robert] Whittaker.
"After this fight, I want to have the chance to prove that I am the champion."
Both fighters showed an unholy power in the first minutes of the battle. Costa was trying to get things done and Romero was waiting before he could shoot a shot that did not separate him from the other players.
Known for his explosive combinations, Romero did not disappoint, as he constantly fought back against Costa's defense before reaching a goal that put the Brazilian down for a while.
Costa was quick to get up and tried to overwhelm Romero, which then led to a reversal. Romero bounced back and he immediately found the face of Costa while the middleweights were only throwing bombs on top of each other.
The only thing that slowed the fighters in the first round was an accidental knee hit as Costa landed, which put Romero on the ground for a few moments while the action was momentarily interrupted.
It was a non-stop pace, but Costa did not seem to slow down in any way while the fight was going on in the second round. He was constantly advancing and throwing every shot to the head with the fighting instinct.
Costa also hit the body several times, but he had to be cautious, as Romero always held him honest with his shots countered to speed and surgical precision.
The incessant number of punches began to accumulate late in the round. Romero landed at will and then finished with a huge shot on goal. Costa has slowed considerably during these last exchanges, but he refused to back down to the brightest spotlights of his career.
With a series of third rounds on his resume, Romero was definitely on the attack in the last five minutes, but Costa remained connected with several hard body shots that pushed the silver medalist to the Olympics.
In response, Romero finally started pushing ahead, where he labeled Costa with blistering uppercuts that slammed the Brazilian's head back. Romero was definitely making the most of the trade, but Costa's ability to absorb the damage and fire back with staggering power even as her gas tank was running out of steam was remarkable.
The fighters were obviously both exhausted afterwards, but Costa kept his hands high, convinced that he had done enough to win the victory.
Now with a perfect 14-0 record, including the win over Romero on Saturday night, Costa appears to be the No. 1 contender to face the winner of the fight for unification of the UFC 243 middleweight title between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.
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