UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori needs an opponent for UFC 275. But at this point, he’s not nearly desperate enough to entertain a rematch with Paulo Costa.
Vettori on Thursday responded to the “crazy f****** guy” Costa, who raised his hand on Twitter after the Italian fighter tagged Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till in a ploy to replace the injured Robert Whittaker on the June 11 card.
“He wants to fight, but he has no choice. “You did me dirty. You’re done, buddy. That’s over. Get somebody else between.”
It’s only six months ago that Vettori and Costa faced off in a crucial matchup in order to decide who will remain in the hunt for a title shot. Both had suffered losses to champion Israel Adesanya during their last outing. Although the fight was originally scheduled for a middleweight bout, Costa weighed in at a staggering 145 pounds and asked to be fought as a catchweight. An irritated Vettori complied, agreeing to face the Brazilian at 195 pounds, only to see a flurry of last-second negotiations result in a light heavyweight fight.
Vettori was critical of Costa’s ineptness but promised to pay him back in the octagon. Costa lost a narrow decision, marking his second consecutive setback.
Since then, Costa has appeared increasingly erratic, calling for a rematch with Vettori despite the original weight debacle Vettori’s manager at the time claimed was a ploy to get released by the UFC. Costa voiced his disgust at his contract pay, and has spoken out about considering fighting somewhere else.
Despite a pair of losses to champ Adesanya, Vettori currently stands at No. 5 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, while Costa sits at No. 7. Vettori noted the absurdity of an instant rematch.
“Claim your spot,” he said. You’re right behind me. I f ***** your up. … Fighting this motherf *****. makes no sense to me. Zero sense for me. Zero. Plus, I f****** him up with 20-plus pounds over. This dude is a f***. F*** this dude. I got your money, I got the win, get the f*** away from me. It’s over.”
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