Paulo Costa’s Manager Says Fighter Could Be Ready In April

It was recently revealed by UFC President Dana White that Paulo Costa would be out for eight months after getting left biceps surgery.

Wallid Ismail, who is Costa’s manager, says that his fighter could be ready and fight again by April of next year.

“I have just heard that UFC will find another opponent for Adesanya,” Ismail told ESPN. “I can’t even imagine Adesanya fighting against anyone else other than Paulo Costa. Paulo will be ready to fight in April 2020, and this is the kind of fight all MMA fans want to watch. They truly hate each other, and they are both undefeated.”

If White’s eight month timeline is correct, it would mean that Costa would return by June of 2020, which is two months later than Ismail’s timeline. 

Ismail would like to see the UFC hold off on middleweight champion Israel Adesanya’s next title defense because a bout against Costa would break some records.

“This fight has all the ingredients to break all UFC pay-per-view records,” Ismail said. “Paulo is certain Adesanya is going to lose any time soon, but he really wants to be the first to beat him up.”

Yoel Romero has thrown his hat into the title picture to fight Adesanya next, but no official decision has been made at this time.