Ronaldo Souza never has fought for a UFC title. And the way he sees it, the road to get there just got a little bit longer.
It was pretty stunning late Thursday night when UFC President Dana White announced that Souza is stepping in for Paulo Costa to face Yoel Romero at UFC on ESPN 3.
Details as to why the April 27 headliner was changed are scarce as of this writing, but one thing is clear: Romero vs. Costa quickly has become the middleweight version of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson.
Romero and Costa were previously set to meet at this past November’s UFC 230, but Romero was forced to withdraw with an injury. The two then targeted a meeting at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in January, but it was Romero who suffered an injury in training. And now this happens, which is how we end up with a Romero-Souza rematch from UFC 194.
Which is OK, I guess, because it prompted Souza to deliver this wonderful video reaction on Instagram:
The road is long but I can deal with it!
It seems Souza believes he might’ve been on the cusp of a title shot when, in reality, he’s probably third or fourth in line. No? It appears he’s looking at the Romero rematch as an extra fight, and that’s why he’d think “the road is getting longer.” Do I necessarily agree? No.
But you know what? It’s that line of thinking that served as the inspiration for the video, and I absolutely love the video.
For more on UFC on ESPN 3, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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