Derek Brunson calls out Paulo Costa for UFC 256 fight

UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson has requested a fight against Paulo Costa for the UFC 256 pay-per-view later this year.

Brunson is coming off of a vicious third-round TKO win over prospect Edmen Shahbazyan that cemented his pale as a top-10 middleweight. Costa, meanwhile, is a top-five fighter who is coming off of a TKO loss to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. At age 36, Brunson is looking to make a title run late in his UFC career and he needs to pick up wins over top-ranked fighters such as a Costa to get an Adesanya rematch.

Taking to his Twitter on Sunday, Brunson officially called out Costa for a fight at UFC 256 on December 12. That event is set to feature a fantastic main event between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns and a co-main event of UFC women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes against Megan Anderson.

Has anyone seen or heard from @BorrachinhaMMA . Someone ask him if he’s available Dec 12 ! @AliAbdelaziz00 @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite 🧐

— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) October 4, 2020

Has anyone seen or heard from @BorrachinhaMMA . Someone ask him if he’s available Dec 12 ! @AliAbdelaziz00 @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite

This is certainly a sensible callout from Brunson considering his place in the UFC middleweight division. Right now he’s ranked in the bottom end of the top-10 and he needs to beat someone with a higher rank like Costa if he wants to move into the top-five and get closer to that coveted rematch and title shot against Adesanya, who knocked him out in November 2018 while the latter was still coming up as a contender in the middleweight division.

Brunson (21-7) is currently riding a three-fight win streak with wins over Shahbazyan, Ian Heinisch, and Elias Theodorou over his last three fights. Overall, Brunson has a 12-5 record in the UFC. As for Costa, the loss to Adesanya was the first defeat of his pro MMA career.

Would you like the UFC to book Derek Brunson vs. Paulo Costa?