Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre was tuned in for UFC 241, and just like everyone else who watched, he was blown away by the main card war between middleweight contenders Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.

During an appearance on Chael Sonnen’s podcast, the former middleweight champion gave his take on this riveting battle.

Is Paulo Costa next in line? pic.twitter.com/1Y1bFdbYr1

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) August 20, 2019

“I did not,” St-Pierre responded to Sonnen when asked if he knew how good Costa was. “I didn’t know what to expect. Sometimes when you see two very powerful guys fighting each other, you expect it to be an amazing fight, and sometimes it’s a boring fight. I didn’t put my expectations [of the fight] too high like everybody else did, but it was amazing.”

Georges St-Pierre went on to share his belief that Paulo Costa, who defeated Yoel Romero via hard-fought unanimous decision, has now earned a crack at the middleweight title.

The title will next be on the line when undisputed champ Robert Whittaker takes on interim champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia in October. Costa could conceivably be next for the winner.

“I would agree,” St-Pierre said when Sonnen shared his belief that Costa deserves a title shot. “I can’t see who else. [Kelvin] Gastelum is still in there. But yeah, I think it is [Costa]. I can’t see who else would be the new kid on the block.”

With his victory over Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa improved to 13-0 as a pro. Other highlights of the Brazilian knockout artist’s impressive resume include victories over Uriah Hall and former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks. His victory over Romero marked the first time he has ever seen the judges scorecards as a professional mixed martial artist.

Do you think Costa has earned a crack at the Whittaker vs. Adesanya winner?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/20/2019.