Paulo Costa

Background

Costa, the son of odd-jobber Carlos Roberto and Maria Augusta, was born in 1991. He has an older brother, Carlos Costa, who is a former mixed martial artist and one of Paulo's coaches. Paulo grew up in Contagem playing football and eventually picked up Muay Thai at the age of nine in order to learn discipline and avoid street fights he was constantly getting into. As a teenager, Paulo joined a jiu-jitsu gym with his brother only to quit the sport after their father died of throat cancer when Paulo was 17. A couple of years later, Costa returned to jiu-jitsu and started competing under the tutelage of his brother who was already a purple belt at the time.

In order to help his mother with bills, Costa worked in real estate and as an IT teacher, teaching Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Costa made his professional MMA debut in his native country of Brazil in February 2012. Eventually, his brother convinced their mother to support Paulo monetarily for a year in order to pursue his professional martial arts career. Over the next five years, he amassed a record of 8–0 with 7 knockouts and 1 submission.

The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil

Costa was chosen to be a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3. In the opening elimination round, he defeated José Roberto via submission (guillotine choke) in the second round. Costa was the second middleweight fighter chosen by coach Wanderlei Silva. His next fight was against Márcio Alexandre Jr., and Costa lost via split decision after three rounds.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Costa made his promotional debut on 11 March 2017, at UFC Fight Night 106 against Garreth McLellan. He won the fight via TKO in the first round, earning his first Performance of the Night award.

Costa faced Oluwale Bamgbose on 3 June 2017, at UFC 212. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.

After the fight with Bamgbose, UFC offered a new contract, but the parties did not come to an agreement on the financial terms. The UFC then proposed a fight with former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks, with a promise to renegotiate after the bout. Costa faced Hendricks on 4 November 2017, at UFC 217. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. After the bout Costa signed a new, multi-fight contract.

Costa was expected to face Uriah Hall on 21 April 2018, at UFC Fight Night 128. However, Costa pulled out of the fight in mid-March with an arm injury. In turn, promotion officials elected to pull Hall from that event entirely and reschedule the pairing for 7 July 2018, at UFC 226. Costa won the fight via technical knockout in round two. The win earned him his second Performance of the Night award.

Costa was scheduled to face Yoel Romero on 3 November 2018, at UFC 230. However, Romero indicated in mid-August that, while he had been cleared to fight, his medics had recommended that he wait another four to five months to allow facial injuries incurred during his most recent fight to fully heal.

The bout was rescheduled again, and was expected to take place on 27 April 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 8. Costa was removed from the card for an undisclosed reason. He was replaced by Ronaldo Souza. Romero then pulled out of the fight due to pneumonia, and Costa was scheduled to face Souza, but a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation prevented Costa from participating, so neither Romero nor Costa competed in the event.

It was revealed that Costa had been suspended for six months by USADA and Comissão Atlética Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) for receiving prohibited intravenous infusions (IV) more than 100 mL in 12 hours after the weigh-ins in June 2017 at UFC 212 against Oluwale Bamgbose and November 2017 at UFC 217 against Johny Hendricks. Costa was fined a third of his purse of the fights, which were reverted to his opponents. The suspension was retroactive to 10 August 2018, and Costa was eligible to fight again in February 2019. On 23 March 2020, Lucas Penchel MSc, who provided the infusions in question, accepted a two-year ban from USADA, starting on 13 March 2020.

Light Heavyweight

Moving up to light heavyweight, Costa faced Azamat Murzakanov on 11 April 2026, in the co-main event of UFC 327. Costa won the bout by technical knockout via head kick in the third round, handing Murzakanov the first loss of his mixed martial arts career.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Garreth McLellan and Uriah Hall

Fight of the Night (Two times) vs. Yoel Romero & Luke Rockhold

Second most significant strikes landed-per-minute in UFC Middleweight division history (6.21)

UFC Honors Awards

2019: President's Choice Fight of the Year Nominee vs. Yoel Romero

UFC.com Awards

2017: Ranked #7 Newcomer of the Year

2019: Ranked #3 Fight of the Year vs. Yoel Romero

Jungle Fight

Jungle Fight Middleweight Championship (One time)

One successful title defense

MMA Junkie

2019 August Fight of the Month vs. Yoel Romero

2024 February Fight of the Month vs. Robert Whittaker

Sherdog

2019 Round of the Year vs. Yoel Romero (round 1)

ESPN

2020 Rivalry of the Year vs. Israel Adesanya

Controversies

Alleged assault on a nurse

On 31 May 2022, Costa was questioned by the police in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, regarding an incident in which he was accused of striking a nurse with his elbow during a dispute over a COVID-19 vaccination card. Costa claimed he was already vaccinated but had not had it recorded on his vaccination card, and that he asked the nurse to sign his card. The nurse, however, claimed that Costa had not been vaccinated and refused to sign, and that he attempted to flee with the filled-out vaccination card without the shot being administered. She went on to say that in an effort to prevent him from leaving, she grabbed Costa by the arm, and she was hit with an elbow to her face, which caused her lips to become swollen. No charges were filed.