Paulo Costa criticizes MMA fighters for accepting ‘any crap deal that’s thrown their way

MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 11: Paulo Costa of Brazil reacts after a knockout victory against Azamat Murzakanov of Russia in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC 327 event at Kaseya Center on April 11, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)

Paulo Costa is in an interesting position right now. “Borrachinha” has one fight left on his UFC contract and could leave the promotion to test out the free market. Or he could re-sign with the UFC and step into a title fight.

Costa has extensive experience negotiating with the UFC. He sat out for a year and a half during his previous contract negotiation, ending up with a deal that paid him over a million dollars per fight. Now, with five of those six fights delivered (and a 3-2 record to show for it), he’s back at the negotiation table. The UFC doesn’t seem in a rush to deliver his final fight without a new contract in place. But if he signs, he believes an interim light heavyweight title shot would be his.

“I’m sure that if I were to say, ‘I want to renew, go ahead, send me an offer to fight for the belt,’ that would happen,” Costa told Brazilian outlet Sexto Round. “If I said, ‘I don’t mind being stuck, I don’t mind being undervalued, or receiving less than I deserve, it’s okay, I just want to fight for the title,’ that could happen, I believe. But it’s not that simple.”

“I think it would be a mistake to do that. I know UFC champions who earn half of what I earn. So is it worth it? For example, Nate Diaz just fought for $10 million. That’s a lot of money, man. Compared to what they’re earning in the UFC, is it worth it? Is it worth it to get the UFC belt and be stuck there earning poorly?”

“I don’t treat my career lightly,” Costa added. “Each fight is a detail that counts and is very important. I’ve done contracts in the past which went badly for me, which I regretted, where I was stuck because I was bound by the contract. So we take great care, very good care, with great detail, of every step we take.”

“It’s up to each athlete to do their part. The issue is that almost all athletes don’t manage their own careers or don’t have anyone to manage them. They make bad deals, bad agreements. These bad deals cause the UFC to get used to taking advantage of the athletes.”

“When you go to an MMA athlete, nobody cares, they accept anything,” he concluded. “Any crap that’s thrown at them, they accept it. We don’t just accept anything. I take care of my interests in the best way possible.”

Later in the interview, Costa suggested that the UFC hasn’t been the same since UFC CEO Dana White handed over the day-to-day control of the promotion to CBO Hunter Campbell.

“Dana is sorely missed, in terms of a sense of security and a loss to their team,” Costa said. “They’re making a lot of mistakes. I think it’s systemic. When someone has a lot of influence like Dana and built the company with their own hands, making almost all the important decisions? When they leave it in someone else’s hands, there’s a vacuum.”

“In the first few months, maybe it continues because everything is already moving. But then when you need that same push that he was giving, that new person maybe isn’t pushing as much, and then the company goes through some strange moments.”

It would be unfortunate for the UFC to lose Paulo Costa at this moment when the promotion needs big names like his at light heavyweight to keep the division interesting. But Costa clearly knows his value on the open market and isn’t about to accept less. That means the chances of him signing a new deal (and popping up in a shotgun interim title fight) are looking a bit slim at this moment.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →