Former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa recently called out the rising undefeated phenom Bo Nickal. The way the Brazilian did the deed has fans in splits as the 33-year-old misspelled Nickal, going borderline racist.
Costa had been angling for a matchup against fellow former title challenger Jared Cannonier but changed his attention to Nickal after realizing 'Killa Gorilla' is out for some time. The 41-year-old had fought at the last UFC Apex Fight Night, defeating Gregory Rodrigues in a back-and-forth war.
Costa posted:
"Is Bo Niggal avaible?"
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Fight fans reacted hilariously to Costa's unconventional callout. One fan commented:
"PFP funniest mf on twitter"
Costa's social media game is second to none. The Brazilian often entertains fans on social media with his hilarious posts.
Another fan commented:
"Is Reinier de Ridder on the table?"
Considering they are in the top 15 of the middleweight rankings, the fight could happen.
A fan commented:
"Remember when Izzy took your soul?"
Costa's first loss in professional MMA was to Israel Adesanya. The Brazilian suffered a second-round TKO loss to 'The Last Stylebender' when he fought for the middleweight title at UFC 253.
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Costa's last fight was at UFC 302 against Sean Strickland. The Brazilian is 1-4 in his last five fights after a 13-0 start to his MMA career. Meanwhile, Nickal has not fought since defeating Paul Craig, the only fighter to last the distance against three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion, at UFC 309.
Bo Nickal loses spot in middleweight rankings; Costa falls one spot down
In the updated middleweight rankings, Paulo Costa dropped one spot down to No. 12. On the other hand, Nickal recently lost his No.15 spot to Reinder de Ridder, who submitted Kevin Holland at UFC 311.
Bo Nickal had entered the rankings replacing Sharaputdin Magomedov, who lost his undefeated record to Michael 'Venom' Page in the co-main event of UFC Riyadh. Though his time inside the rankings was short-lived, a victory in his next fight will likely put him back.
Meanwhile, Anthony Hernandez entered the top 10 of the middleweight rankings after defeating Brendan Allen in the co-main event of UFC Seattle. In the rematch of their middleweight title fight at LFA 32, Hernandez secured a unanimous decision victory over Allen. With the win, 'Fluffy' moved three places up to No. 9, sending Allen down to No. 10.