Luke Rockhold believes he will make quick work of Paulo Costa if the fight hits the ground at UFC 278.

UFC 278 takes place tomorrow, Saturday August 20th at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

It will be Luke Rockhold (16-5 MMA) vs Paulo Costa (13-2 MMA) in the middleweight co-main event.

Rockhold, 37, has not competed in the Octagon since July of 2019. His 3 year hiatus came after back to back losses to Jan Blachowicz (29-9 MMA) and Yoel Romero (14-6 MMA). It has been 5 years since the California native has had a win and that was against David Branch (22-7 MMA) in September of 2017.

Paulo Costa, 31, had an impressive record of 13 wins in a row before losing back to back match-ups with Israel Adesanya (23-1 MMA) at UFC 253 and Marvin Vettori (18-5 MMA) in October of 2021.

Jed I. Goodman took to ‘Twitter‘ with a video of Luke Rockhold and his tweet:

Rockhold: I'll treat Paulo like a bitch if it gets to the ground, it'll be over.#UFC278 pic.twitter.com/9eOkkGos6u

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 18, 2022

“Rockhold: I’ll treat Paulo like a bitch if it gets to the ground, it’ll be over. #UFC 278”

Fighting words for sure.

Speaking at UFC 278 media day, Costa had this to say about his upcoming bout:

“I prepare for a war, but I really don’t believe he (Rockhold) can hang with me. I think this fight will finish quickly, but I don’t care. If he could, in some way, hold (his own) and bring a war, I’m ready.”

Concluding ‘Borrachinha’ said:

“I don’t know if I need to hurt him on the very beginning of the fight, but his chin will be tested. I have no doubt about that.”

Will you be watching UFC 278 tomorrow night? Do you think Rockhold can make a comeback and upset Costa?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!