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Morning Report: Marvin Vettori responds to Paulo Costa’s rematch request: ‘Get the f*** away from me’

UFC Fight Night: Costa v Vettori Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori needs an opponent for UFC 275. But at this point, he’s not nearly desperate enough to entertain a rematch with Paulo Costa.

Vettori on Thursday responded to the “crazy f****** guy” Costa, who raised his hand on Twitter after the Italian fighter tagged Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till in a ploy to replace the injured Robert Whittaker on the June 11 card.

“He’s trying to get a fight now, but he can just f*** off,” said Vettori in an Instagram selfie video while driving. “You did me dirty. I f***** you up, and that’s over buddy. That’s over. Get somebody else between.”

It’s been just six months since Vettori and Costa met in a pivotal matchup to determine who would stay in the immediate hunt for a title shot with both suffering losses to champ Israel Adesanya in their previous outing. The fight originally was scheduled as a middleweight contest, but in one of the most bizarre fight-week behavior ever seen from a UFC fighter, Costa showed up massively overweight and demanded a catchweight fight. An irritated Vettori complied, agreeing to face the Brazilian at 195 pounds, only to see a flurry of last-second negotiations result in a light heavyweight fight.

Vettori blasted Costa’s lack of professionalism but vowed to make him pay in the octagon, and pay Costa did, losing a lopsided decision that marked his second straight setback.

Since then, Costa has appeared increasingly erratic, calling for a rematch with Vettori despite the original weight debacle Vettori’s manager at the time claimed was a ploy to get released by the UFC. Costa has been vocal about his displeasure over his contracted pay and has spoke openly about fighting elsewhere.

Despite a pair of losses to champ Adesanya, Vettori currently stands at No. 5 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, while Costa sits at No. 7. Vettori pointed out the ridiculousness of an immediate rematch.

“Claim your spot,” he said. “You’re behind me. I f***** you up. ... It makes not a bit of f****** sense for me to fight this motherf*****. Zero sense for me. Zero. Plus, I f****** him up with 20-plus pounds over. F*** this dude. F*** this dude. I got your money, I got the win, get the f*** away from me. It’s over.”


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