"I'm gonna smoke this fool" - Luke Rockhold on how his fight against Paulo Costa will pan out

Luke Rockhold recently shared his thoughts on his upcoming fight against Paulo Costa.

The former middleweight champion will square off against Paulo Costa at UFC 278 on August 20, 2022. Rockhold will return to action after a three-year absence and is expected to go all out against the Brazilian to mark his comeback. He will look to demonstrate his fighting prowess to the world.

In a recent interview with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, Rockhold stated that once inside the octagon, he will easily defeat 'The Eraser.' The American southpaw appears to be confident in his ground game. He believes it will be the key to defeating 'borrachinha' in their upcoming fight.

Predicting how his fight against Paulo Costa will unfold, the former middleweight champion said:

"I really truly think I can make this fight look easy. If I go out there and I fight present not focused on anything else and just letting myself go. And I get that flow state, I'm gonna smoke this fool...He's just too bulky. He looks for breaks and if I just execute, I take my time...I'm gonna finish him."

He added:

"He wants to go kick for kick or whatever he wants to do from the outside, he can't reach me on the outside and he's f***ed if we go to the ground."

You can check out Luke Rockhold's entire conversation with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn below:

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Luke Rockhold wants Israel Adesanya after fight against Costa

Luke Rockhold recently stated on Submission Radio that he wants to fight Israel Adesanya after his fight with Paulo Costa. He has stated unequivocally, however, that his motivation for fighting the middleweight champion is to put himself up against the best in the division.

Speaking of his willingness to fight the division champ, Rockhold stated:

"Anybody who looks at the belt and just wants the belt is a b***h. I look at a champion and I want to take the champion to be the champion. You don't look at the f***ing belt like, 'Oh, the belt's going to make you a champion'."

He added:

"Beating the champion makes you a f***ing champion so that's all you focus on is the f***ing champion and that's it... I just want to fight Israel and test myself against the best."

You can check out the interview of Luke Rockhold in the video below: