Paulo Costa has claimed he’s willing to step in as a late replacement to fight Josh Hokit if for any reason his next opponent Derrick Lewis gets injured prior to their fight at the UFC: White House event on June 14th.
“I just let ufc knows if Derek Lewis gets out his fight for some reason I will step in at White House as heavyweight,” Costa wrote on X. “No bullsh*t , ain’t lying.”
In fact, Costa is so eager to fight Hokit that he’s suggesting the UFC books Lewis against someone else at the event instead.
“Right now, I think practically all the fans would like to see how I, who was perhaps the biggest middleweight in history, would fare against Hokit in the Heavyweight division without cutting any weight at the White House. wouldn’t be surprised if I came in heavier than him. If Trump still wants Derrick there , book him with somebody else.”
Costa had previously vented his frustration that Hokit took a ‘Performance Of The Night’ bonus as well as ‘Fight Of The Night’ honors for his crazy brawl with Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327 recently, believing that his head kick finish of Azamat Murzakanov should have got the $100,000 bonus instead.
That win up at 205lbs means Costa is now a significant player in that weight-class, so truth be told it’s far more likely the UFC brass will be looking to keep him there to try to solidify him as a genuine contender rather than hand him a random one-off fight at heavyweight.
