Paulo Costa is a rare UFC personality with the correct mix of funny and fierce. The Brazilian is famous for his comedy and also holds an impressive professional MMA record of 14-2. Recently, the Middleweight fighter sent fans into a frenzy with his latest post on Instagram.
A couple of days ago, Costa posted a picture of himself shirtless to show off his physique. However, fans raided the comments section saying he was looking thin. Some fans even claimed he would miss weight because he is underweight. A Middleweight fighter needs to be within the limits of 171-185lbs. Costa seemed to be in range, however, fans sometimes like to exaggerate.
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The black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, on the other hand, is not far behind. He posted the exact same picture again but edited himself to be much more bulky. He captioned the post, “Abu Dhabi is helping me to get bigger! Secret [juice emoji].”
Fans, who did not realize it was an edited picture, were taken aback. They were worried that Costa would miss weight because he was easily over 185 lbs. One fan wrote, “Bro is not making 185”
Another fan wrote, “Paulo please, make weight.”
Meanwhile, one fan asked Costa to not play with their feelings. They wrote, “Pauloooo make weight please, don’t play with our feelings.”
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Costa will be up against undefeated fighter Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. The event will take place on October 21, 2023.
Paulo Costa has missed weight only once in his career
Costa was on an undefeated streak holding a 13-0 record before he faced Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight championship at UFC 253. The Brazilian lost the bout via a TKO. He was pegged to face Marvin Vettori next in the Middleweight category at UFC Fight Night 196. However, Costa weighed in at 204.5 lbs. He was heavily criticized for turning up over the limit.
The fight was moved to a 195 lbs catchweight fight and ultimately turned into a Light-Heavyweight bout. Costa lost that fight against Vettori, only the second loss of his career.
He got a point deducted in the second round because of an eye-poke. ‘Borrachina’ lost the match via a unanimous decision as all judges scored the fight 48-46 in Vettori’s favor. The Brazilian was also reportedly fined 20% of his purse for missing weight.
Costa returned to Middleweight as he fought Luke Rockhold at UFC 278. He won the fight via unanimous decision extending his record to 14-2.