Paulo Costa and Jared Cannonier might be fighting soon at UFC 309! After the disappointing cancellation of a fight between the duo, they might get another chance. Even if all of this is still a rumor and there is no confirmed decision from UFC, social media is already abuzz with this news. Cannonier would have loved to fight Costa, but for him, the offer came too soon and he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout at  UFC 301. 

Cannonier expected to have a battle against him in the future but Costa fought Strickland at UFC 302. Both the fighters are coming off losses in their last fights but might get a chance to redeem themselves. Let’s dive deep into what the situation looks like.

Paulo Costa might fight at UFC 309 against Jared Cannonier

According to a recent Twitter/X Post by Ruben Carter, Paulo Costa versus Jared Cannonier is being targeted for UFC 309. Their pictures with the words, “Paulo Costa vs Jared Cannonier targeted for #UFC309 at Madison Square Garden.” were uploaded by the social media page for fans to see. Cannonier already fought on 8th June at UFC fight night where the fight was headlined by him and Nassourdine Imamov but he lost the battle in round 4. However, the 17-7-0 Middleweight might just be getting another chance by fighting at UFC 309.

On the other hand, Paulo Costa last fought against Sean Strickland at UFC 302 and lost the bout in round 5. The 14-4-0 middleweight is going to possibly and finally become Cannonier’s opponent. Both of them are coming off losses and this rumor might change their fate in the middleweight category. The duo might have got a chance to show their prowess at UFC 301 but fate had other plans for them. As for Cannonier, he was excited for the bout at UFC on ESPN 52 against Roman Dolidze but was forced to withdraw due to a torn MCL. The next chance for Cannonier came against Costa at UFC 301 in Rio but that was too early for him. Let’s see if the third time becomes his glory.

There have been no words from Dana White yet but the UFC CEO was pretty upset with what had happened in UFC 302. He was furious at Judge Tirelli, who had scored the co-main event in favor of Paulo Costa. Costa had lost a split decision to Sean Strickland and Dana White addressed the issue with MMA Junkie. He  said that it was “f*cking nuts.” He told the other reporters at the post-fight presser that it was insane how the judge gave more points to Costa. He also wanted the judge to step down from his position, so he did not like Costa being scored more than Strickland.

On this note, will White give the former a chance at UFC 309? On the other hand, even Costa agreed with Strickland, Joe Rogan, and Dana White in their criticism.

Paulo Costa agrees to objections from veterans

After Strickland achieved victory in UFC 302 he criticized his opponent for ‘running’ all over the co-main event. However, the 33-year-old promised to return to his classic form of fighting which was barnstorming. He agreed that he was lacking during his bout at his last fight and confessed everything in a now-deleted video on Twitter/X which got re-uploaded by other fans on Instagram.

The post was captioned with the words that the fighter agreed with Joe Rogan and White and that he needed to move forward and try to give a knockout. In the video, ‘The Eraser’ said, “I won one and lost two. But let me tell you something: I agree with Dana (White) and Joe Rogan, and I will do that; I will bring back the Paulo that takes heads off to finish the fight.”

He also pointed out that he was not a fighter who counter-attacked his opponent. He had a better forward stance and agreed that he needed to deliver better. Costa promised that he would not concentrate on conserving energy but rather attack back. The fighter is coming off two losses against Strickland and Whittaker so do you think he will fight at UFC 309?