UFC 241 Results: Paulo Costa defeats Yoel Romero (Highlights)

A key middleweight bout between former division title challenger Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa takes place on the main card of UFC 241.

‘The Soldier of God’ will be returning to action for the first time since suffering a controversial split-decision loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC 225 in June of 2018.

Yoel Romero (13-3 MMA) has gone 9-2 since joining the UFC ranks in 2013, scoring knockout victories over Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Tim Kennedy, Derek Brunson, Ronny Markes and Clifford Starks during that stretch.

Meanwhile, Paulo Costa (12-0 MMA) will be looking to keep his impressive undefeated record in check with a victory over Romero at UFC 241. ‘The Eraser’ is coming off a second round TKO victory over Uriah Hall in his most recent Octagon appearance at UFC 226.

Costa has gone 4-0 since joining the UFC ranks in March of 2017, with all four wins coming by way of TKO.

Round one begins and Paulo Costa comes forward with a low kick that misses. Romero with a kick tot he body. He fakes with a high kick. He lands a second shot and there is a mad scramble. Costa appears to be ok. He begins walking down Romero. Costa clips Romero and the Cuban is hurt. Romero backs off and Paulo comes forward and gets clipped himself. Costa goes down and Romero comes after him. Paulo scrambles back to his feet and we are back to standing. What a wild start to this one. Costa continues to press the action. Yoel Romero misses with a spinning back fist. Costa swings and misses and Yoel connects with a left. Big right hand now from Costa. He follows that up with a body kick. Romero tries to get off the cage but eats another shot for his efforts. He finally does and lands a flying knee. Now a flurry of shots from Romero. Costa tries to counter with a knee, but it connects low and Yoel Romero drops to the floor in agony. After a break we restart and Romero slips on the canvas. He avoids any damage and comes forward with a high kick. Costa continues to walk forward and lands a body kick. Big shots from both men now. They are trading against the cage. Romero is so tough. Those were some heavy body shots from Costa. Yoel Romero misses with a left. Costa leans in and gets clipped. Romero with a body kick now. He lands a straight left. Paulo Costa with a spinning wheel kick. He lands a right hand after that previous kick just missed. The horn sounds to end round one.

IT'S CHAOS JUST LIKE WE THOUGHT!#UFC241 pic.twitter.com/4q8gtD2Y8u

— UFC (@ufc) August 18, 2019

Round two of this UFC 241 middleweight fight begins and Paulo Costa immediately pressures Yoel Romero. ‘The Eraser’ with a combination that ends in a body kick. He lands a hard low kick followed by a pair of body kicks. ‘The Solder of God’ responds with a jab to the body. Costa leans in with a left hook. He lands a right hand. Both men throwing bombs against the cage. Someone is going to fall soon. Costa backs off and lands a body kick. Romero circles to his right and leaps in with a left hand. Costa looks to move forward but eats a body kick and a jab. Yoel Romero is beginning to put things together now. Two minutes remain in the round. Romero with a good jab. Costa is starting to slow down a bit. Yoel continues to utilize a lot of movement. Costa with a jab to the body and then one to the face of Romero. Yoel with a left hook and then a pair of snapping right jabs. Costa takes a big gasp of air. This is officially the longest fight of his UFC career. Yoel Romero continues to snap off his jab. Costa looks for a head kick but Yoel avoids and smiles. A good uppercut from the Cuban now. He shoots in for a late takedown and gets it. The horn sounds to end round two.

Yoel shoots, Yoel scores!#UFC241 pic.twitter.com/OGSCSabNRi

— UFC (@ufc) August 18, 2019

The third and final round of this UFC 241 fight begins and Paulo Costa comes forward with pressure early. Yoel Romero lands a pair of low kicks. Romero with a good left and then a straight right. Paulo leaps in with a flurry. He lands a hard body kick and then another. Romero backs off and Costa is on him with punches. Romero circles out and lands a left hook. This is a very close fight, it could easily come down to this final round. An accidental eye poke stops the action momentarily. We restart and Costa lands a nasty low kick. Romero misses with a hook and Paulo counters nicely with a straight punch up the middle. Romero with a pair of shots now. He lands a left hand. Costa with a right over the top. Romero continues to keep up a high volume of punches. He lands a good flurry. Paulo answers with a low kick. Romero with a spinning back fist. He leaps in with a left hook and then an uppercut. These guys are throwing down now. Big uppercut from Romero. Ninety seconds remain. Costa with a knee to the body. More uppercuts from Romero. He lands a back fist and then a flurry. One minute remains. Yoel Romero has his hands down. Costa comes forward and gets greeted with a number of punches. Romero with a good right hand. He lands a left and the fighters clinch. Romero scores a late takedown. Paulo looks to reverse but they wind up back on their feet. The horn sounds and this one is all over. What a fight!

This fight is everything!#UFCf241 pic.twitter.com/BELkKIViCC

— UFC (@ufc) August 18, 2019

Official UFC 241 Result: Paulo Costa def. Yoel Romero by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Who would you like to see Paulo Costa fight next following his decision victory over Yoel Romero at tonight’s UFC 241 event in Anaheim? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!

August 17, 2019