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#3 Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa (Middleweight)
Two freaks of nature with scary knockout power locked inside the cage! It doesn't get any better than this!
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Round 1: Costa began in orthodox and shot for the body kicks. Romero went high with the head kick and attempted a takedown. Costa stuffed it. Romero tried a wild spinning back elbow.
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Romero tried to cut the distance. The Cuban got rocked by Costa with a left to the chin. Romero wobbled a bit and responded by rocking Costa in return with a shot. It was a back and forth slugfest. No surprises here!
The fight continued after the wild exchange. The fight was momentarily stopped after Costa hit Romero in the groin. Romero went high, so did Costa, who went for a head kick.
Romero shot for the takedown. Costa stuffed it and landed shots from the top. Romero sprang back up with a wild combination. It was a chaotic first round which may have been edged out by Costa as he landed the bigger shots and had better moments overall.
Round 2: Front high kick from Romero. Left hook from Romero. Costa with a huge 1-2. Body kick from Costa. Leg kick from Costa. Romero switched stances. Costa with a left hook to the body. Another straight left to the body. Romero looked for an opening but Costa was giving him none of it.
Costa had Romero pinned onto the cage and unloaded with right and lefts. Romero kept asking for more. Back to the centre, Costa fired a straight right.
Romero went low to the gut, then a high kick and an attempted jab. Costa's jab looked more like a powerful straight right. Romero's jabs kept connecting. Romero's hand speed looked great. Romero kept moving as Costa was slowing down. Romero with the jabs mixed with the lefts and right. Body kicks from Romero. Romero with an uppercut through the guard. Romero landed a takedown in the dying stages of the second round.
Round 3: This was Costa's longest fight ever and that would have been something Romero would have wanted to capitalize on. Costa jumped in with a body punch. A jab from Costa. Two jabs from Romero. Romero with a solid right and a straight right.
Costa connected with two hard kicks to the body. Costa with a quick right. The referee asked for a timeout as Costa suffered an eye poke. The fight resumed. Big 1-2 from Costa. Romero kept his guard up but Costa kept landed nasty punches to the body. Jab, body punch from Romero.
Romero pressed forward. Costa with another shot to the body. Romero with an elbow to the face. Romero went for the uppercut, but Costa moved his head. Romero kept pushing forward. Costa wanted more. The fans went bananas. What a fight! What an atmosphere!
Both men threw bombs in the centre. Three quick jabs from Romero. Costa with a body kicks again. Romero with a big headshot. Costa tried to cover up as Romero followed him.
Romero scored a takedown but almost gave up his back. Both men held on as they went the entire 15 minutes.
That lived up to all the expectations and then some.
Romero scored 96 head strikes to Costa's 55. Costa was up in the stats when it came to the body strikes with 55. Both men had one knockdown each.
Result: Paulo Costa def. Yoel Romero via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lot's of Yoel fans in the house as the fans vociferously booed after Costa was announced as the winner. They just didn't let him speak as the post-fight interview was drowned out by the jeers.
Was that a disputable decision from the judges? We'll have to watch that crazy fight again as well as see the scorecards to make a fair assessment.
All said and done, The Eraser and The Soldier of God delivered one of the fights of the year.
