UFC Fight Night 128 in Atlantic City has just had a potential barn-burner of a fight added to its card, with the Brazilian heavy-hitter Paulo Costa (11-0) taking on fellow knockout artist Uriah Hall (13-8).
The booking has been met with some controversy as fight fans remain concerned with the welfare of Hall after he was suddenly rushed to hospital before his fight with Vitor Belfort at UFC St Louis. That being said Dana White was quick call Hall out about pulling out of the fight in a post-fight media scrum after UFC Fight Night 124 stating that “The guys at the UFC (Performance Institute) said he’s the, what’s the word – he doesn’t take it serious. He doesn’t take his training serious, he doesn’t do what anybody tells him. He does his own thing.”
Regardless of the hearsay about Hall’s last nearly outing, he’s managed to bounce back from the brink of potential UFC release following a three-fight skid losing to Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Gegard Mousasi. His rebound came against Krzysztof Jotko, knocking him out at UFC Fight Night 116 back in September 2017.
Costa on the other has become somewhat of a rising star with three TKO wins in a row, defeating Garreth McLellan, Oluwale Bamgbose and Johny Hendricks. Costa’s last win against Hendricks took place on the main card of UFC 217, taking him to 11 fights, 11 wins and 11 finishes.
This fight is a classic rising star versus seasoned veteran, although sporting just a 13-8 record Hall has fought 12 of his 21 contest inside the Octagon. Will Hall be too much of a step-up for Costa, or will we see Costa cementing his place in the division as a potential contender? Whatever happens in this fight I can’t see it going the distance.
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