Henry Cejudo is not sold on Paulo Costa’s chances in his next assignment, voicing serious concern about the Brazilian’s matchup with undefeated Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 327.
Costa meets Murzakanov in the light heavyweight co-main event at the Kaseya Center in Miami, with the records tilted in the Russian’s favor at 16-0 in MMA (6-0 UFC) against Costa’s 15-4 overall (7-4 UFC). Cejudo believes the danger is clear if Costa isn’t fully prepared.
“The UFC is trying to serve up ‘Mr. Secret Juice’ himself,” Cejudo said while breaking down the fight alongside Kamaru Usman on his podcast. “This guy (Murzakanov) is really good technically on his feet. He brings in the grappling. He knows how to mix in that damn fighting. If Paulo is not ready for the takedowns with the finesse and the speed, he's in trouble with this one.”
Cejudo laid out what he sees as Costa’s best path forward. “The keys for Paulo Costa, he really needs to go for broke,” he said. “He needs to take his chances early – just bringing the heat in early and really dig to the body and turn this into a fight because there's one thing you can always say about the Russians: They are all technically sound. Paulo, I love you. I love the 'secret juice.' But you've got to go out there and throw the kitchen sink because technically, on paper, when you see everything that this guy does, he's a lot more well-rounded.”
Costa heads into UFC 327 coming off a win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318, after previously using heavy pressure to overwhelm opponents like Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold.
