Paulo Costa caused quite a stir on fight week leading up to his Saturday headliner against Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 41. “Borrachinha” was unable to make the supposed middleweight limit, forcing the bout to be moved to a 195-pound catchweight, and eventually, to a light heavyweight contest.
This put Costa in a negative light. Former fighters who’ve gone through the same situation in the past called him out for being “lazy.”
That narrative against Costa may have carried over to the fight and affected referee Jason Herzog’s judgment, at least according to Daniel Cormier.