Paulo Costa withdraws from UFC fight with Jared Cannonier, Kelvin Gastelum set as replacement

Paulo Costa has been forced to withdraw from his slated UFC fight with Jared Cannonier and will be replaced by fellow middleweight Kelvin Gastelum.

Costa (13-1 MMA) and Cannonier (13-5 MMA) were expected to headliner a UFC event on August 21 in a location still to be determined. However, according to ESPN‘s Brett Okamoto, ‘The Eraser’ has been forced to withdraw from the bout and will be replaced by former TUF winner Kelvin Gastelum.

Per sources, Paulo Costa has withdrawn from his main event against Jared Cannonier on Aug. 21. Kelvin Gastelum (@KelvinGastelum) has agreed to take his place. pic.twitter.com/HzzjCkg2u0

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 5, 2021

“Per sources, Paulo Costa has withdrawn from his main event against Jared Cannonier on Aug. 21. Kelvin Gastelum has agreed to take his place.” – Okamoto shared on Twitter.

No official reason regarding Costa’s removal from the August 21 fight card has been provided as of this time.

Paulo Costa has not competed since suffering a TKO loss to reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. Prior to that setback, which served as the first of his career, ‘The Eraser’ had gone 5-0 under the UFC banner – including four wins by knockout.

Image Credit: UFC

Thankfully Kelvin Gastelum was ready and willing to step up and replace Costa against Cannonier later this summer.

Jared Cannonier will enter his upcoming fight with ‘KG’ looking to rebound from his recent unanimous decision loss to Robert Whittaker. Prior to that setback, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ had rattled off three straight TKO victories.

Meanwhile, Kelvin Gastelum (16-7 MMA) will be also be looking to bounce back from a decision loss to ‘The Reaper’ when he enters the Octagon on August 21. The former TUF winner has gone 1-4 over his past five fights overall, with his lone win in that time coming against Ian Heinisch by way of decision.

What do you think of the news that Paulo Costa has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC fight with Jared Cannonier and will be replaced by Kelvin Gastelum? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!