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Chael Sonnen has given his thoughts on why a permanent shift up to light heavyweight could be good for the career longevity of Paulo Costa.
Sonnen, who has been retired for over two years, began his career at 205 pounds before transitioning down to middleweight. He went on to make a handful of appearances at light heavyweight which included a title shot against Jon Jones in 2013.
Costa, a former middleweight title contender and controversial figure in the division, is currently searching for answers regarding where he's going to go next in his UFC career. His manager recently stated that the Brazilian intends to stay at 185 pounds.
Chael Sonnen, however, seems to think light heavyweight is where 'Borrachinha' belongs moving forward.
“I see that weight cut as a problem. There are plenty of fights I wanna see Paulo [Costa] do at 185 pounds, no question. I know Sean Strickland specifically has called him out, boom you’ve got my interest, nobody wants to fight Paulo Costa. He is a terminator, for sure, Sean said he wants to fight him, boom you’ve got my attention. But I could play that game five, six, seven different ways, there’s a number of guys who I would like to see in there with Paulo, a lot of good matches.”
Sonnen added that the Brazilian might not do well in a rematch with Israel Adesanya. Costa fought Adesanya for the middleweight title but was soundly defeated at UFC 253.
“There’s more parity, for me, at 205 pounds, and I think there’s more parity for Paulo Costa. I don’t know that the road back to Izzy Adesanya or a match with Izzy Adesanya is going to be much different, but I do think opportunities at 205 pounds, I think they’re going to continue to play musical chairs there.”
Watch Chael Sonnen address the Brazilian's future here:
Sonnen went on to note that during the pandemic era alone, we've seen Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira hold the 205-pound strap, suggesting Paulo Costa could also get himself into the mix.
Has Paulo Costa fought at light heavyweight before?
The short answer is yes, but it wasn't necessarily an easy transition.
Costa was supposed to fight Marvin Vettori at middleweight back in October 2021. However, after showing up during fight week, it became evident that 'Borrachinha' wasn't going to make the weight.
The bout was moved up to light heavyweight on short notice and while Paulo Costa did put in a valiant effort, he was no match for the gritty Vettori who walked through all of the Brazilian's power shots and won via unanimous decision.
