Costa on Romero: ‘He’s a nice guy, but he’s dirty’

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Paulo Costa has called out Yoel Romero for his ‘dirty’ tactics in their fight at UFC 241.

Paulo Costa has accused Yoel Romero of being ‘dirty’ in their fight this past weekend at UFC 241.

Costa defeated Romero by unanimous decision at UFC 241 in the event’s Fight of the Night. The fight was closer than the verdict made it out to be, with Costa starting well and Romero finishing the fight strong. The second round was a big debating point.

Talking on The Ariel Helwani MMA Show, Costa detailed Romero’s ‘dirty’ tactics in the fight.

“He’s a nice guy, but he’s dirty. In the first round, when I make a hook in his face, he went down then got up very quickly, and I say man I will knock him out in the first round because he feel my punch, my first punch, and I started hunting him in the octagon. And when I close to knock him out, he point on something, anywhere, I don’t know. Like look there Paulo, and I lose concentration, because he point something, maybe his mouth piece fall.”

It’s not the first time Romero has been accused of being a dirty fighter. At UFC 178 against Tim Kennedy, Romero wouldn’t get off his stool at the end of the second round when prompted, and went on to win the fight. Chris Weidman also wasn’t happy about Romero’s corner pouring water on him between rounds in their fight at UFC 205.

“The second thing, my knee not hit his balls. My knee hit his stomach, and he said, ‘Oh, you hit my balls,’ and he jumped back, and the referee (said) stop, stop. I don’t know him deep, but he’s a nice guy, he looks like a nice guy, but his kind of fight is not clean.” (Transcription via MMA Junkie)

Costa will most likely be next in line for a middleweight title after UFC 243 in October when current champ Robert Whittaker takes on interim title holder Israel Adesanya.