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Yoel Romero is getting a Middleweight Championship opportunity in the main event of UFC 248 against Israel Adesanya despite coming off a loss. Adesanya's original opponent after unifying the title at UFC 243 was supposed to be Paulo Costa.
Adesanya even called Costa out after the fight and the rivalry began, only for it to be revealed soon after that Costa suffered a shoulder injury that could keep him out for up to 9 months. As a result, Adesanya didn't want to wait that long to fight again and called out Yoel Romero - the man who Costa beat to earn his title shot.
The reason behind the call-out was very simple. Romero is considered the most "feared" man in the 185-pound division and not many people want to fight him. Adesanya demanded that Romero be his next opponent as he believes it's important for his legacy as the Middleweight King.
Just like UFC 243, Paulo Costa will be Octagon-side. The Brazilian told MMA Fighting that he'll be in the front row to see if Adesanya can beat Romero the way he did:
“Everybody wants to see that, if he can beat Romero or not. I believe Adesanya himself feels he has to prove he can beat Romero, too, so I’ll be there watching.
He's going on a scouting mission for his next opponent:
“I’ll be able to train everything,” Costa said. “I’ll be there, front row, at UFC 248. Let’s see who’s next.”
Many will hope that Adesanya will walk out with the title as the prospect of him vs Costa is an exciting one. If he gets through Romero, there's no doubt that he'll face Costa in the second half of 2020.
