Paulo Costa Weighs 211 Pounds Just Days Out From 185-Pound Fight

It's probably safe to say that Paulo Costa won't be making weight for his middleweight clash with Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 41 this weekend.

During his press conference, Vettori had an inkling that his opponent was "a lot overweight" ahead of the bout.

But now the man himself has revealed his actual weight less than 48 hours from when the cage doors slam shut.

"My weight right now is 96 kilos (211 pounds)," Costa told the media.

"What happened yesterday, [my manager] Wallid [Ismail] talked with some people, Ali [Abdelaziz], his manager I think, and it's not on the schedule to make 185 [pounds] anymore. It's another weight. I'm not exactly [sure] which weight yet."

It's highly doubtful that Costa is going to be able to cut that much weight in such a short space of time.

That said, the Brazilian believes the bout will still take place - even if it's at a catchweight.

"I think this fight will happen - it just will not happen if he does not want to fight me," Costa added.

"Maybe we can do a catchweight. Ninety kilos (198 pounds), maybe. I think making this fight (at a catchweight) could be more exciting to the fans - more explosive fight because I want to go bring the fight for him. Maybe he wants to bring the fight to me. So, I think with both guys heavy, this knockout can happen easily."

In a joint interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, the two rivals seemingly agreed to fight at a catchweight of 195 pounds.

After some back-and-forth, Costa asked: "Which weight do you want to fight? 195? 205?"

To which Vettori, knowing his opponent stands no chance of making the required 185-pounds, replied: "195, but hey, can you even make 195?"

And Costa responded: "Yes, 195 is good. Let's do 195."

The pair may have verbally agreed on a catchweight, but UFC officials still need to approve it themselves.

Topics: UFC, Australia, MMA

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry