Paulo Costa is ready to get back to work. | Getty/UFC
Paulo Costa wants to keep the momentum going, but it appears that he and the UFC aren’t on the same page in that regard.
“Borrachinha” enjoyed a successful light heavyweight debut at UFC 327, where he finished the previously undefeated Azamat Murzakanov with a head kick in the third round on April 11. The victory seemingly opened up a variety of new possibilities for the Brazilian. Thus far, however, he’s been kept on ice.
Costa’s sense of urgency to get back to work is compounded by the fact that he is entering the last fight on his current UFC contract.
The Waiting Game
“Since I defeated Azamat in April, I have been looking for the next fight,” Costa wrote on X. “I’ve eventually opened the door to fight at heavyweight. UFC told me to wait…wait… Here we are, it’s already July, and [I’m] still looking to fight someone else at light heavyweight, middleweight or even heavyweight but the answer from [the UFC] by Hunter Campbell is the same: ‘Wait.’
“I want to fight. I don’t want to wait. I have just one more fight at my contract, and I want this fight happen soon, but for some reason they don’t.”
After a rough stretch from 2020 to 2024 where he lost four of five UFC appearances, Costa has raised his stock with back-to-back wins over Roman Kopylov and Murzakanov. The 35-year-old began his Octagon tenure on a roll, earning a title shot after five consecutive victories. “Borrachinha” suffered a second-round stoppage loss to Israel Adesanya in a 185-pound championship clash at UFC 253.
