"I'll treat Paulo like a bi**h if it gets to the ground"- Luke Rockhold warns Paulo Costa about his grappling skills ahead of their fight at UFC 278

Luke Rockhold has issued a stern warning to Paulo Costa ahead of their highly-anticipated fight. Rockhold, who last competed in July 2019, will make his long-awaited return to the octagon in a middleweight bout against Costa at UFC 278 on August 20.

During tonight’s UFC 278 pre-fight press conference, both Rockhold and Costa took multiple jibes at one another. Speaking of which, one of the most notable shots taken by Rockhold against ‘The Eraser’ was in regards to the grappling aspect of their fight.

Luke Rockhold had previously claimed to have the best jiu-jitsu in the sport of MMA, going as far as asserting that it was better than that of multi-time BJJ world champion Demian Maia. Paulo Costa fired back at Rockhold’s claims during the UFC 278 media day earlier this week. Costa said:

“He’s make some jokes, no? No, I don’t believe that, man. He has big holes on his jiu-jitsu. Yeah.”

Watch Costa address the topic at 7:52 in the video below:

At the UFC 278 pre-fight press conference, a reporter notably referenced Costa’s aforementioned statements and asked Rockhold for his thoughts. The former UFC middleweight champion replied by suggesting that his jiu-jitsu is far superior to Costa’s. Vowing to stop ‘The Eraser’ if they go to the ground, Rockhold stated:

“I’ll treat Paulo like a bi**h if it gets to the ground. It’ll be over.”

Watch Rockhold discuss the topic at 13:15 in the video below:

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John McCarthy outlines Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa’s respective paths to victory at UFC 278

In a video posted to John McCarthy and Josh Thomson’s Weighing In Xtra YouTube channel, the former MMA referee and former UFC lightweight broke down the Rockhold-Costa matchup. McCarthy opined that the fight would answer several questions about Luke Rockhold, who’s returning from a lengthy layoff.

Furthermore, McCarthy alluded to the fact that Rockhold once held the UFC middleweight title and was considered to be one of the best middleweights in the world. He explained that the Costa showdown will reveal whether Rockhold is still capable of vying for the title or if time has passed him by. Outlining Rockhold and Costa’s respective paths to victory against each other, McCarthy said:

“I think that the only way that Costa is gonna beat Luke is on the feet, knocking him out. And the only way that I see Luke getting a solid win here is to take him off of his feet, use his incredible grappling that he does have, and get a submission victory."

Watch McCarthy’s assessment in the video below: