Will Paulo Costa become a two-division champion in the future?
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil alumni is a forced to be reckoned with in the middleweight division, with Costa putting the division on notice with his wins over former UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks (UFC 217), Uriah Hall (UFC 226), and most recently, Yoel Romero (UFC 241).
With impressive victories over some of the top competitors in the middleweight division, it’s no surprise that Costa sees big things happening in his future, which includes winning the UFC Light Heavyweight and Middleweight titles at the same time:
“I believe I can take two belts, middleweight and light heavyweight,” Costa told MMA Junkie. “I believe that. I’m very big, and it’s a little difficult to make 185, so I think I can take two belts to my country after my next fight.
“My plan is to move to light heavyweight very soon, quickly after my next fight if it’s possible. It depends who, if light heavyweight will have a great name like Jon Jones or not, it depends, but I’m not scared to fight against big guys.”
The Brazilian isn’t much of a fan of the current 185-pound champion, and shames Adesanya for challenging Jon Jones to a super fight, but then turning down the match-up when the light heavyweight champ accepted the bout:
“Like the skinny guy Adesanya, he calls Jon Jones out, but when Jon Jones accepts, he says, ‘No I need two years to train,’ … so it’s not good,” Costa said. “Nobody can call something and when his challenge (is) accepted, he says, ‘No, not now.’ This is shameful (expletive). I won’t be that. I’m ready, if I want to fight in light heavyweight right now, I can do that. So I believe after this fight, I will move to the next step, on the next shot.”