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Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold Preview & Picks – Costa To Stop Rockhold At UFC 278
- Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold picks for Saturday, August 20
- UFC 278 is taking place at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, USA
- Preview, predictions and head to head stats
- Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold Preview & Picks
- Paulo Costa Form
- Luke Rockhold Form
- Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold FAQs
Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold Preview & Picks
Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold Preview & Picks
Paulo Costa is tipped to knock out former champion Luke Rockhold.
Rockhold is coming off a three-year absence and has a string of knockout losses on his record.
Costa has showcased plenty of fight-finishing power in the past, so we are backing the Brazilian.
- 11 of Paulo Costa’s 13 wins have come via KO/TKO
- Paulo Costa’s last 3 wins have all ended in the 2nd round
- All 5 of Luke Rockhold’s defeats have been via KO/TKO
- Luke Rockhold has been knocked out in 3 of his last 4 fights
Paulo Costa Form
Paulo Costa is looking to end a two-fight losing sequence in his first outing of 2022.
The 31-year-old Brazilian established himself as a top middleweight after signing with the UFC in 2017.
He began his UFC career with a 77-second knockout of Garreth McLellan, and then backed that up with a string of second-round stoppage wins.
Costa finished Oluwale Bamgbose and then took out former champion Johny Hendricks, before earning Performance of the Night offers by stopping Uriah Hall.
He then secured the biggest win of his career in 2019 when he bested Yoel Romero over three rounds.
That secured Costa a shot at the middleweight title, but he was no match for Israel Adesanya on the night, losing KO/TKO in the second round.
‘Borrachinha’ stepped up to light-heavyweight in his next outing, but failed to bounce back.
He lost on points to Marvin Vettori in his 205lb debut after having a point deducted for an eye poke, leaving him with a 13-2 record.
Luke Rockhold Form
Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is ending a three-year absence from the UFC.
He has not stepped inside the Octagon since being knocked out in his light-heavyweight debut in July 2019.
The 37-year-old debuted for the UFC back in 2013, losing to Vitor Belfort in the first round, but he rebounded to surge up the middleweight ladder.
Rockhold reeled off four straight stoppage wins to land himself a shot at the 185lb crown.
He beat Costas Philippou by strikes before submitting Tim Boetsch, Michael Bisping and Lyoto Machida.
The American then claimed the middleweight championship when he knocked out Chris Weidman in the fourth round in December 2015.
Rockhold failed to make a successful defence of the title though, suffering a shock first-round knockout loss to Bisping, who had agreed to the rematch on less than two weeks’ notice.
He bounced back quickly with a second-round stoppage of David Branch in September 2017, but he has not won since.
The former champion was knocked out in the third round by Yoel Romero when he fought for the interim title in February 2018.
Then, in his light-heavyweight debut, Rockhold was stopped in the second round by Jan Blachowicz to leave himself with a 16-5 record.
Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold FAQs
Where can I watch the Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold live stream?
You can watch the Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold stream by using ExpressVPN.
Where is Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold taking place?
Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold is taking place at UFC 278 on Saturday, August 20 at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, USA.
Verdict
Luke Rockhold’s punch resistance appeared to waning and he has not fought in three years.
That spells trouble against a big-hitter like Paulo Costa, so we are backing the Brazilian to win by stoppage.
That spells trouble against a big-hitter like Paulo Costa, so we are backing the Brazilian to win by stoppage.
Costa by KO/TKO/DQ
Method Of Victory
@-161.29 - 3 Units
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Costa in Round 1 or 2
Round Group Betting
@-120.48 - 2 Units
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Costa in Round 2
Round Betting
@333.00 - 1 Unit
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See also
- UFC 278 Offer – Get Double Winnings If Francis Ngannou-Tipped Treble Wins
- Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili: Get Triple Winnings If Aldo Wins By Stoppage At UFC 278
- Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili Previews & Picks – Aldo To Win UFC 278 Fight
- Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards 2 Preview & Picks – Usman To Win UFC 278 Rematch
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