‘Rumble’ Johnson tears up Paulo Costa’s weight reduction disaster

When everyone’s Anthony Johnson has something negative to say about a fighter’s weight loss, it’s probably a sign of a problem.

Johnson (23-6 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), a current Bellator fighter, is perhaps one of the most infamous names in MMA history when it comes to sloppy weight cuts. His repeated failures to reach contracted weight ultimately led to a release from his first stint with the UFC, and â€œRumbleâ€ wonders if Paulo Costa is on the verge of meeting the same fate.

Costa’s weight reduction (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was the subject of the fight week at UFC Fight Night 196. He was originally supposed to fight Marvin Vettori (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) in the middleweight headliner, but the situation gradually eased with the fight raised to 195 pounds, and then finally to 205 pounds. Costa claims he weighed 211 pounds when he arrived in Las Vegas for the ESPN + streaming fight at UFC Apex, and endless drama ensued.

Vettori played the game to the end, taking the weight class changes with flying colors. Costa has received a ton of feedback from the MMA community, however, and Johnson is the latest to jump in.

Johnson knows he was far from perfect. He was forced to move from welterweight to middleweight and always arrived heavy before eventually switching to light heavyweight – and even rubbing shoulders with heavyweights. However, he said Costa’s actions go beyond the scope (via Instagram Stories):

â€œI missed weight 3 times fighting for the UFC,â€ Johnson wrote. â€œEven though I knew it was going to be a fight, I would still try to put on weight and not be ab * tch and try to take (weight) off of the blue because I was lazy. Costa wants fame and glory without working. Hit me as much as you want, but even I didn’t make up any excuses or make it up.

â€œIf he fights against 205, stay there. This way there are no more excuses and no one will see how lazy he is. Believe me, gaining weight is much better and makes life easier.