Paulo Costa blasts Jeremy Stephens for not continuing against Yair Rodriguez

UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa put featherweight Jeremy Stephens on blast for not continuing to fight after getting accidentally poked in the eye by Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Mexico City.

Costa took to Twitter to criticize Stephens for not continuing to fight, insinuating that he doesn’t belong in the UFC. Here’s what “Borrachinha” said.

Shameful. Stephen’s don’t deserve UFC pic.twitter.com/JHeeQRErEX

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) September 22, 2019

“Shameful. Stephen’s don’t deserve UFC”

The reaction to Stephens getting poked in the eye has been mixed by both fans and fighters. Many believe that Stephens should be given the benefit of the doubt for the eye poke, including Rodriguez himself. However, some believe that Stephens should have put up a better fight with the doctor to continue on in the bout. But none of us were in the cage and felt that eye poke, so criticizing him for something we didn’t feel seems unfair.

As for Costa, he’s coming off of a great win over Yoel Romero at UFC 241 that saw him emerge as an elite title contender in the UFC middleweight division. It seems kind of strange that Costa would come after Stephens on social media for the eye poke, but clearly he felt that Stephens could have continued in the fight and felt like he had to pipe in and give his two cents on the matter.

Costa currently does not have his next fight booked. However, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker next puts his title on the line against interim champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 next month in Melbourne, and Costa is expected to fight the winner of that fight early next year for the middleweight belt. As for Stephens, it seems like a rematch with Rodriguez could be in the cards, though the UFC hasn’t confirmed that yet.

What do you make of Paulo Costa’s comments about Jeremy Stephens?