Paulo Costa says the UFC still hasn’t called, and he’s tired of staring at the phone.
The former middleweight title challenger posted on X that he plans to fight at an event at the end of the year. He didn’t say that event would have an Octagon in it. “Nothing from the UFC. I’m going to fight at an event at the end of the year,” Costa wrote. He added: “I’m in great shape and in my prime. I’m going to do what I love fight somewhere.”
That last word, somewhere, is carrying a lot of weight. BJPenn.com read the post as a hint that Costa could be on his way out of the promotion. MMA Fighting kept it simpler: Costa is still waiting on his call from the UFC.
View post on X
As of Monday, BJPenn.com reported, the UFC’s matchmakers hadn’t responded to Costa’s latest comments. A deal could still come together in time for him to fight under the UFC banner before the year runs out.
How he got here
The maddening part, from Costa’s side, is that he should have leverage right now. He made the full-time move to light heavyweight earlier this year and knocked out Azamat Murzakanov with a head kick at UFC 327. That finish put him among the top contenders at 205.
It was also his second straight win since a split-decision loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 302. His middleweight run was up and down, with losses to Strickland, Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya on the ledger before he moved up for good.
Since the Murzakanov knockout, Costa has asked the matchmakers for a fight, loudly and often. His name got attached to rumored bouts with two former champions, Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev. Neither one made it past talks.
Dana White tells it differently. The UFC CEO accused Costa of turning down multiple offers after catching wind of some of Costa’s recent comments. Costa’s latest post doesn’t touch that claim, and the two versions don’t fit together very well.
Costa has company in his frustration with the front office. Strickland, the current middleweight champion and the last man to beat Costa, recently hinted his MMA career could be over because of an ongoing contract dispute with the promotion.
Quick take
I’ll always take a fighter who says exactly what he wants in plain language, and Costa did that. A head-kick knockout of Murzakanov should earn you a phone call. A months-long staring contest is a strange reward. But White put a specific accusation on the table, and if there really were multiple offers, Costa owes fans the names and the reasons he said no. If there weren’t, the UFC is letting one of its most watchable light heavyweights burn his prime on social media while Prochazka and Ankalaev sit right there. The end of the year is less than three months out, and right now Costa is the only one in this standoff who has named a deadline.
