Paulo Costa News

Chris Taylor - October 5, 2019

Paulo Costa will be watching tonight’s UFC 243 middleweight title unification bout between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker with great interest. The undefeated Brazilian, Costa (13-0 MMA), is expected to be the next man to challenge for the promotions coveted middleweight title.

Adam Martin - October 4, 2019

UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa has come on the offensive against interim champ Israel Adesanya. Costa says he badly wants to fight Adesanya after UFC 243, and he wants to put the pain on him. So much so that Costa says he wants Adesanya to be the first “kill” on his MMA record. Here’s what Costa wrote on Twitter in response to Adesanya recently calling him an “overly-inflated balloon animal.”

Adam D Martin - September 22, 2019

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.

Cole Shelton - September 16, 2019

Paulo Costa will be in attendance at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia. But, he will not be there as a backup fighter to weigh-in. Instead, he will be there to watch the main event and see who he is fighting next. Of course, the main event of the card is the middleweight title fight between Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya. According to Paulo Costa, UFC President Dana White has promised him the next title shot.

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 Jr. - 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.