Paulo Costa turns attention to ‘unpredictable’ Dricus Du Plessis as his next opponent: ‘A huge fight’

Paulo Costa has his eyes set on former middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis as his next opponent.

Costa is coming off an upset win over Roman Kopylov to prove he’s still a contender at middleweight. Following the win, the Brazilian wanted to face Khamzat Chimaev, but he knows he will likely need another fight, so he wants to face Du Plessis instead of rematching the likes of Israel Adesanya or Sean Strickland.

“Dricus (is) better because he is fresh from the belt,” Costa said to Submission Radio. “He’s so unpredictable. He’s a tough guy to fight, to be honest. Khamzat Chimaev knew that – that’s why he hold him for so long. Even in the fifth round, Dricus was still dangerous, and Chimaev was afraid to fight him. He just held the guy for 25 minutes. Horrible.”

A fight between Du Plessis and Costa makes sense, as both likely need to win a couple of fights to get a title shot. So, Paulo Costa believes it would be smart for the promotion to book it.

Paulo Costa eyes ‘fun fight’ against Dricus Du Plessis

Not only does Paulo Costa want to fight Dricus Du Plessis because it gets him closer to a title shot, but he also says it would be a fun fight.

Costa knows it would be a fight the fans would want to see, and he hopes the UFC does make it happen for later this year.

“Potentially (by the end of the year) that would be a great fight. A huge fight. I stopped fighting the UFC,” Costa said. “Now we are friends. Now we are partners. I said this to Hunter (Campbell), and Dana (White). They’re going to bring a good match, a fun match. I’m 100 percent on that.”

Paulo Costa is 15-4 as a pro and coming off the win over Kopylov to snap his two-fight losing streak. Costa is ranked 13th at middleweight.