UFC veteran Luke Rockhold is set to return to the octagon this Saturday night to face Paulo Costa in the co-main event of the night, and the former rival of ‘The Count’ Michael Bisping had some big claims to make ahead of his next MMA bout.

Rockhold enters the fight as the underdog, with betting lines on the official UFC website putting him at a +240 disadvantage compared to Costa’s -285 favourite status.

Despite this, the Middleweight legend is more than prepared to head into the cage on Saturday, August 20th 2022 and produce an upset over the #6 ranked 185-pound fighter in the division.

Here is what Luke Rockhold had to say with regards to his UFC 278 co-main event bout against Paulo Costa on Saturday, August 20th 2022.

Read More: UFC 278: Date, Announced Fight Card, Location, Kamaru Usman and more

Luke Rockhold on Paulo Costa

UFC 278 Poster Usman vs Edwards 2

Image Credit: UFC

Speaking to Shak MMA (via Sportskeeda), he said: “I mean his power and his ferocity, you know, he’s going to come forward. And you’ve got to be prepared and judge that distance and govern that distance and then make him pay. 

“I mean, I’m a long fighter and I’ve got some long strikes and some outside game and he’s going to have to get through.

“I believe I can outstrike him, I know I can out wrestle him, and I will kill him on the ground, there’s no chance there.”

It’ll certainly be a firefight once the two men square off in the octagon this Saturday as part of UFC 278!

Luke Rockhold Next UFC Fight

Luke Rockhold is out of UFC 268

Luke Rockhold is out of UFC 268

For context, here is the full lineup for UFC 278 as confirmed by the official UFC website on Tuesday, August 16th 2022:

Early Prelims

  • Daniel Da Silva vs Victor Altamirano – Flyweight Bout
  • Aoriqileng vs Jay Perrin – Bantamweight Bout
  • Amir Albazi vs Francisco Figueiredo – Flyweight Bout
  • AJ Fletcher vs Ange Loosa – Welterweight Bout

Prelims

  • Miranda Maverick vs Shanna Young – Women’s Flyweight Bout
  • Sean Woodson vs Luis Saldana – Featherweight Bout
  • Wu Yanan vs Lucie Pudilova – Women’s Bantamweight Bout
  • Leonardo Santos vs Jared Gordon – Lightweight Bout

Main Card

  • Tyson Pedro vs Harry Hunsucker – Light Heavyweight Bout
  • Marcin Tybura vs Alexandr Romanov – Heavyweight Bout
  • Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili – Bantamweight Bout
  • Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold – Middleweight Bout
  • Kamaru Usman (c) vs Leon Edwards – Main Event UFC Welterweight Championship Bout

Read More: UFC 278 UK Start Time: Early Prelims, Prelims and Main Card

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