Paulo Costa speaks with the NZ Herald ahead of his UFC 302 bout against Sean Strickland this weekend.
When Paulo Costa broke into the UFC’s middleweight division in 2017, he left a trail of destruction in his wake.
Joining the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion after amassing an 8-0 record on the Brazilian scene, Costa claimed four straight knockout wins before beating Yoel Romero in a brutal three-round tussle to position himself in line for a shot at the title.
In September 2020, he got his opportunity to clinch UFC gold when he met Israel Adesanya on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
Instead, he left with the first loss of his career, but some valuable lessons he has put into practice in the three years since.
“I learned a couple of things,” Costa told the Herald. “First of all, if you are not so good, if you’re not feeling good to go fight, to perform, to fight against the top-level guy, don’t go. This is the first thing.
“The second is I’m doing a lot of things different. From the training, from the fight week; in the past, 2020, I was training hard as f***, you know, with no carbohydrates, no foods and training until my limit. This time I’m not. I’m just saving energy, doing exactly the amount of training that I need to do.
“So, I learned much and I grew as a fighter, [I’m a] more skilled fighter, I’m more dangerous now ... I’m a completely different fighter.
“Everybody needs to grow, everybody needs to get some evolution. I am on my grind to get better; a better person, better fighter, better businessman, everything.”
Paulo Costa unsuccessfully challenged Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title in September 2020. Photo / Getty Images
Now, Costa (14-3) is hopeful of mounting another championship run when he takes on former champion Sean Strickland (28-6) in the co-main event at UFC 302 in New Jersey on Sunday. A trend that is becoming more common for the UFC, Costa and Strickland will have five rounds to work in as opposed to the usual three for a non-title bout.
Strickland, who dethroned Adesanya last September before losing the title to Dricus du Plessis in January, will be the third ex-champion in a row for Costa, following his win over Luke Rockhold in August 2022 and his loss to Robert Whittaker in February. Both fights went the distance.
As it stands, the title picture is murky. Adesanya is expected to challenge du Plessis for the belt in the headline bout at UFC 305 in Perth in August, but what happens next is up in the air.
While Costa didn’t necessarily agree with Adesanya coming straight back into a title shot, he said it ultimately wasn’t something to concern himself with – yet.
“I think he’s getting this fight more because of his beef against Dricus,” Costa said. “I think this is a little bulls***, but it is what it is. I don’t care. I want to fight Adesanya as well, as soon as possible, but I’m focused on beating Strickland. I can figure out who’s going to hold the belt after that.”
Should Adesanya’s challenge be confirmed by the UFC, Costa’s fight against Strickland and the bout between Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev in Saudi Arabia in late June could both act as title eliminators.
Costa enters ranked at No 7 in the division, with Strickland at No 1. Whittaker (25-7) holds the No 3 ranking and Chimaev (13-0) at No 10.
“I think I need a great performance,” Costa said of what he needs to do to put himself in the title hunt again.
“I put this on my back. I have no problems [doing] this. I will [have] a great performance against him. I will deliver a vicious hit; vicious punches and kicks, and even if this fight goes to the ground, it’s no problem for me.
“I will deliver a great performance and the people will want to have me fight for the title again.”
