Paulo Costa Backs Out Of Fight Against Jared Cannonier, Kelvin Gastelum To Replace Him

ESPN reports that Paulo Costa has backed out of a middleweight fight with Jared Cannonier, which was set to happen at UFC Fight Night on August 21. Instead, Kelvin Gastelum has stepped in and will now face Cannonier. The fight will be five rounds.

Gastelum previously stepped up this year to replace Costa in a main event fight, after Costa was set to fight Robert Whittaker in April but backed out due to illness. Gastelum ended up losing that fight via unanimous decision. He has lost four out of his past five fights.

He wrote on Instagram: “Starting over is not easy but not impossible. ‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.’”

Cannonier, meanehile, hasn’t fought since losing to Whittaker last October by decision. Before that, he beat David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson.