Paulo Costa has quickly revealed his immediate plans for the future after picking up an important victory at UFC 318.
While all eyes were on Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight against Max Holloway in Saturday’s pay-per-view main event, among the biggest storylines on the undercard was a crucial outing for Costa.
The former middleweight title challenger has fallen on hard times in recent years. After Costa was tipped for stardom by Dana White in 2018 as he rose through the ranks as an undefeated powerhouse, he went on to win just two fights across the next seven years.
He bounced back in a big way at UFC 318, however, with Costa dropping Roman Kopylov en route to victory via decision in the co-main event at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center.
Though his opponent was unranked and he will likely remain outside the top 10 at 185 pounds, Costa is still setting his sights high for his next fight.
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Paulo Costa will be in Chicago for Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 319 title challenge
During his post-fight press conference at UFC 318, Costa reflected on his successful performance in what was likely a must-win scenario on July 19 following consecutive setbacks against Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker.
Having mostly kept his full attention on the dangerous Kopylov in recent months, Costa revived his feud with Khamzat Chimaev during UFC 318 fight week and his in-cage interview with Daniel Cormier.
Chimaev will challenge Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in August, and Costa plans to boost his chances of fighting ‘Borz’ by being in the front row at Chicago’s United Center.
“I was locked in, 100 percent focused on this fight,” Costa said, before beginning to look ahead.
“Yes, I plan to do that (attend UFC 319 in Chicago). I plan to do that. If the UFC allows me, I will be there in Chicago in a few weeks,” he added.
Khamzat Chimaev continued his war of words with Paulo Costa after UFC 318
It’s safe to say that the animosity Costa has for Chimaev is not one-sided.
Chimaev responded to Costa’s Octagon callout in New Orleans with a post on X, which referenced the claim that he has been messaging the Brazilian’s girlfriend on social media.
“It was she who wrote me habibi (laughing emojis),” Chimaev wrote.
Costa unsurprisingly did not give much time to the Chechen’s remark, simply calling it a lie after it was mentioned by a reporter at his presser.