Paulo Costa News

Adam Martin - August 31, 2019

Despite a recommendation from the California State Athletic Commission to move up in weight, Paulo Costa’s manager says he won’t be moving up to 205lbs. Wallid Ismail, the colorful manager and interpreter for Costa and several other Brazilian MMA stars, told MMAFighting.com that Costa will stay at 185lbs.

Mike Heck - August 29, 2019

UFC 241 went down a couple of weeks ago in Anaheim, Calif., but the aftermath of the memorable event continues as six fighters — including Paulo Costa — have been recommended to move up a weight class by the California State Athletic Commission. Along with Costa, who defeated Yoel Romero in their middleweight featured bout at the event, bantamweights Brandon Davis, Manny Bermudez, and Kyung Ho Kang, women’s flyweight Sabina Mazo, and featherweight Sodiq Yusuff have been given the recommendation.

Tom Taylor - August 21, 2019

At UFC 241, Paulo Costa picked up the biggest win of his career, defeating Yoel Romero by unanimous decision — but it didn’t come easy. Romero gave Costa everything he had, and according to Costa, the Cuban also relied on a few “dirty” tactics. “He’s a nice guy, but he’s dirty,” Costa said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show (h/t MMA Junkie). “In the first round, when I make a hook in his face, he went down then got up very quickly. I say man I will knock him out in the first round because he feel my punch, my first punch, and I started hunting him in the Octagon. And when I close to knock him out, he point on something, anywhere, I don’t know. Like look there Paulo, and I lose concentration, because he point something, maybe his mouthpiece fall.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2019

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.

Christopher Taylor - August 18, 2019

UFC President Dana White spoke to media following the conclusion of UFC 241, where he shared his thoughts on tonight’s Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa fight. Speaking with ESPN‘s Brett Okamoto backstage, White had the following to say about Costa’s controversial decision victory over Romero.

Chris Taylor - August 17, 2019

A key middleweight bout between Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa took place on the main card of tonight’s UFC 241 event in Anaheim. Romero (13-3 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since suffering a controversial split-decision loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC 225 in June of 2018.

Chris Taylor - August 17, 2019

A key middleweight bout between former division title challenger Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa takes place on the main card of UFC 241. ‘The Soldier of God’ will be returning to action for the first time since suffering a controversial split-decision loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC 225 in June of 2018.

Fernando Quiles - August 14, 2019

Kenny Florian believes that Paulo Costa is not ready for a middleweight the caliber of Yoel Romero. Ready or not, Costa will indeed go one-on-one with “The Soldier of God” (see pros picks here) this Saturday night (Aug. 17). The bout will take place on the main card of UFC 241. The action will be held inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Cole Shelton - August 13, 2019

The UFC has stacked the deck for UFC 241, with the heavyweight title on the line and some very intriguing bouts on the main card. In one of those bouts, former middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero will take on Brazilian knockout artist Paulo Costa, who has been asking for this fight for a long time. Heading into the scrap, Romero is a -155 favorite while Costa is a +125 underdog.

Tom Taylor - July 11, 2019

Paulo Costa has always been a big middleweight. Heading into his UFC 241 showdown with former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero, he looks absolutely massive. Early on Thursday morning, the Brazilian knockout artist shared a photo to his Instagram account which shows him glazed in sweat, taking what is surely a well-deserved breather. His shoulders and arms look like those of a rhinoceros.

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2019

Paulo Costa is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 241 against Yoel Romero. It will be the Brazilian’s first fight since being sidelined for six months due to a USADA suspension. His suspension came in part due to a leaked video of Costa using IV’s after weigh-ins. There, the Brazilian says he found out the leak came from an ex-trainer.

Drake Riggs - May 7, 2019

The UFC middleweight division homes several super talented competitors and at the very top, each is continually producing great fights. Two of the division’s most devastating finishers are undeniably the pairing of Cuba’s ‘Soldier of God,’ the Olympic silver medalist in wrestling, Yoel Romero (13-3) and Brazil’s knockout extraordinaire, Paulo Costa (12-0).

Tom Taylor - April 24, 2019

If you were hoping to see undefeated middleweight knockout artist Paulo Costa back in the cage soon, well, you might have some waiting to do. According to UFC vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky, Paulo Costa is still being investigated by the United States Anti-Doping Agency after being fined $9,333.33 by the New York State Athletic Commission for an unknown violation.

Chris Taylor - April 21, 2019

It is becoming very clear that current interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and surging contender Paulo Costa do not like each other. Following his thrilling five round decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, Adesanya was targeted by Costa in a social media post.

Tom Taylor - April 17, 2019

Shortly after Israel Adesanya captured the UFC interim middleweight title by defeating Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC 236 co-main event, he found himself on the receiving end of a social media attack from one of his primary rivals, fellow undefeated middleweight Paulo Costa. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwOyRr_hROw/ “Really this is the interim (fake) champ? Hahah .No doubt this weight division has already been better than this shit. Enjoy this while you can man, I really hope that you take the real belt one day to meet me. Note: And I’m not the Gastelum.” – Paulo Costa on Instagram.

Tom Taylor - April 14, 2019

On Saturday night, in the co-main event of the action-packed UFC 236 card, undefeated striking specialist Israel Adesanya claimed the interim middleweight title with a thrilling decision defeat of Kelvin Gastelum. In the wake of this win, Adesanya has been praised for his incredible efforts and also his ability to survive Gastelum’s many strong moments in the fight. Not everybody, however, is celebrating the new interim middleweight champion.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2019

Last night, we were hit with the unfortunate news that former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero had been forced out of the main event of UFC Fort Lauderdale with an illness. This left his opponent, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, without an opponent. According a report from Brazilian MMA news outlet Combate, the UFC has already found a new opponent for the man they call Jacare in streaking middleweight knockout artist Paulo Costa. This bout has not yet been officially confirmed by the UFC.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2019

For a period, middleweight destroyers Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa were expected to collide this spring. In a surprising twist, however, Romero was then matched up with Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, leaving Costa without an opponent. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, Romero stated that he heard Paulo Costa had been flagged for a potential United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation — the reason he’s apparently been pulled from this fight.