Paulo Costa and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) have reached an agreement on a new four-fight contract. The UFC middleweight was under the impression that he had finished his most recent contract after earning a unanimous decision over Luke Rockhold in an appearance that was awarded “Fight of the Night” at UFC 278, which took place in August of this past year. Before his bout with Rockhold, ‘Borrachinha’ voiced his dissatisfaction with his compensation, saying that it had remained the same ever since he signed with the organization almost five years ago.
As things worked out, he was still eligible to compete in one more event, and the UFC attempted to book him against Robert Whittaker at UFC 284, which took place earlier this year. However, Costa ultimately decided not to engage in that fight, and immediately after the bout’s announcement, he referred to it as “fake news.” Fans have been patiently waiting for months to find out what the next step will be for Costa, who has given the impression that he intends to remain out of action until either he signs a new contract or is released from his current one.
That is, at least up until this point in time. Costa has just recently disclosed that he and the UFC have reached an official agreement over a new contract, which he anticipates signing in the very near future. Tamara Alves, who also happens to be his fiancée, is the person he cites as the primary contributor to his achievement. In addition to the new deal, Costa disclosed that he was offered two different competitors for his upcoming bout. The 31-year-old will fight either Khamzat Chimaev in May or Sean Strickland in October.
In a recent interview with a Brazilian news station, Costa stated: “I haven’t signed the contract yet but we have reached a deal with the UFC regarding the pay.” “It wasn’t easy, there was a lot of hard work, and I have to highlight Tamara’s brilliant work here.”
“I want that, too,” said Costa on his coming bout. “[The UFC] wants to make sure this Chimaev fight happen at all costs, but I want to make both happen. We’ll see.”
While ‘Borz’ was training for his debut main event bout against Nate Diaz at UFC 279 in September, he and Costa had an altercation inside the UFC Performance Institute. Although some words were said to one another, neither fighter engaged in any physical contact; nonetheless, it appears that they will have the opportunity to do so in the not-too-distant future.
Strickland, for his part, criticized Costa for not competing because of the pay disagreement he was having with the UFC. Now that it is finished, “Tarzan” might face Costa as his next opponent.
Costa has a record of 6-2 in the UFC, with his two defeats coming at the hands of Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori.