Paolo Costa, 32, manages to be one of the most talked about fighters in the UFC, despite the following statistics: only five fights in the last six years, two losses in the last three fights, five years without a victory by knockout. or submission, an overall UFC record of 6-2, five fights canceled at the initiative of the Brazilian himself. But! Costa has texture, expensive shirts fit him well, and the UFC gives him the kind of opponents against whom victories last a long time.
He will face former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on February 17 in Anaheim.
— You could have fought Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 284 in Abu Dhabi, but you are fighting Robert Whittaker in Anaheim. Which of these fighters do you consider the most dangerous for yourself?
“I think Whittaker is more dangerous.”
— In what battle could we see you in better shape?
– I’m in better shape now, but if we talk about my past fights, then this is the shape of the fight against Luke Rockhold (August 20, 2022 – “”).
— Nevertheless, you went to the Chimaev fight in Abu Dhabi and there you had a clash with Shovhal Churchaev. What are your thoughts on this incident?
– Yes, it happened, as I understand it, this guy had nothing to do with Chimaev’s team. But Khamzat’s fight itself was not very good, he does not need to fight in the 77 kg category and should move up to 84 kg.
– Do you want to fight against Khamzat Chimaev?
– Yes, I would really like to fight with him. I even went to Abu Dhabi, even though I was injured. From what I saw in his fight against Usman, he is not ready. Khamzat is still a little green, young as a fighter. So I think he needs to get a lot more wins before he can fight me. I’m almost ready to fight for the belt. If he thinks he’s ready, then I’ll accept that fight as well.
— In some photos, you look very muscular: has your weight already exceeded 100 kg? What weight do you usually train with?
– Yes, of course, sometimes I weigh more than 100 kilograms, but in battle I should weigh about 96-97.
— Robert Whittaker is a basic karateka. Have you considered bringing Lyoto Machida into your gym to help you prepare?
– Machida is a very strong fighter, but I didn’t think about this option, I have very good coaches and my team who guide me.
— Who do you consider to be the best middleweight fighter in UFC history: Anderson Silva, Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira, you or someone else?
– I think Anderson Silva is 100%.
— And among the Russian middleweights at the moment: Khamzat Chimaev, Ikram Aliskerov, Roman Kopylov, Aliaskhab Khizriev.
— Among them, I think Chimaev is the best.
— The three best Brazilian fighters in MMA history?
— Anderson Silva, Mauricio Rua and, probably, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
— You’ve probably seen how blogger Jake Paul fights with MMA veterans. Do you think one of the best fighters in the UFC could beat him? Would you like to do this?
– Of course, he is good at boxing, but if you take away Anderson Silva, who entered the fight at 47, he fought with someone who is good at wrestling. That is to say, he had no opponent in the stand. So I think he always chose his opponents very well. If he fought in MMA, he would have no chance of winning. If he had fought with one of the current top 5 fighters in the UFC according to boxing rules, it would have been difficult for him as well.
— Who do you think will fight at UFC 300 in the main event?
“It’s very difficult to say which fight will be the main one. I can say that I would like to participate in it, maybe I will win now and get that chance.
— You are from the city of Belo Horizonte. I heard about it when a Russian volleyball team was going there for an important tournament. Have you ever played volleyball or football? Do you know any of the players?
– Yes, of course, I am friends with Ronaldinho, with other athletes, I like all kinds of sports, I really like volleyball and football. In general, I am a fan of Russia and Russia’s political position is very close to me. I believe Putin is one of the main world leaders. I really like the culture of Russia, I would really like to come to your country.
— Three best fighters in Russia?
– These are undoubtedly Fedor Emelianenko, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
— For the history of Russian MMA, Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is considered a very important fight. You were 11-12 years old when this fight took place. Did you watch it then or did you watch it later?
— I remember this fight very well. I watched it live, it was around four in the morning in Brazil, I didn’t sleep all night and watched the fights from 4 to 6 in the morning. And I loved Pride when I was little, I dreamed that I would fight like that too. At that time, I still thought it was just a dream and that it was unlikely it would come to this. But in the end it worked.
Translated from Portuguese: Alina Jamgaryan
Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
