Paulo Costa insists he’s ready to return soon but UFC president Dana White is being patient.

It’s no secret that the UFC is looking at booking Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero next. Despite dropping back-to-back bouts, Romero is still considered to be a credible threat to Adesanya’s UFC middleweight title. Costa, however, is considered to be the true number one contender but he’s recovering from an injury.

While Costa has been adamant on social media that there’s no need for Romero to jump the line, White wants to play it safe. He told MMAJunkie.com that he wants a definitive answer from a doctor before allowing Costa to compete again.

“The only question is, I don’t know if you’ve seen on social media, but if you look at Costa, he looks like he’s ready to go again, and he’s pushing hard saying, ‘I could take this fight,’” White said

"If you look at him online, he looks great and everything else, but we want to hear it from a doctor. We want a doctor to tell us that this guy is going to be OK to fight sooner. Why rush it?”