Paulo Costa Withdraws From UFC Brooklyn Clash With Yoel Romero Due To Injury

Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa, which was scheduled for 1/19 in Brooklyn, is off ... again. More, including who Romero wants instead here: pic.twitter.com/bON9RESP2G

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 7, 2018

A blockbuster middleweight clash between two-time middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero and rising star Paulo Costa has been cancelled for a second time, according to a report from ESPN.

The pair had been booked to meet on Jan. 19 in Brooklyn, New York when Costa picked up an undisclosed injury in training for and was forced to withdraw. It appears Romero would like to stay on the card early next year and fight former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Silva last fought in February 2017 -- in Brooklyn, coincidentally -- but has been out of the sport since then after failing a USADA drug test on Oct. 26, 2017. “The Spider” was given a one-year suspension for the doping violation dating back to November.

Romero vs. Costa was originally scheduled for last weekend at UFC 230, but the fight was too soon for Romero, who hadn’t been cleared after undergoing surgery to repair a broken orbital bone he suffered in his loss against Robert Whittaker back in June.

Costa last fought in July, dismantling Uriah Hall and finishing him in the second-round via TKO.