From the sound of things, Borrachinha might be the next MMA fighter to try his hand in the boxing ring.
Middleweight contender Paulo Costa seems as though he’s counting the days until the end of his current UFC contract. Although he has a bout lined up against former champion Robert Whittaker in February 2023, ‘Borrachinha’ appears to already be considering a move to a different sport altogether in the not too distant future.
Much like Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and by all indications Nate Diaz, who have taken their skills to the boxing ring, the Brazilian hinted at a potential next move in his career on his official Twitter account. In the post, Paulo also made another bold criticism of his current deal with the world’s largest MMA promotion.
My miserable contract with the UFC was up in a few short months. will expire in time . A new #boxer is coming to town!
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) November 3, 2022
The financial complaints are hardly new ground for Costa, who took to the MMA Hour back in August to expose some of the specifics of his contract.
“I’m on a high, high level, fighting the best of this division and my contract is too old,” Costa explained. “When I fought Marvin Vettori, I got $35,000! $35,000. For this one was a couple more, a couple more. I got the win bonus, and because when I fought Marvin Vettori, I got a 20% reduction.”
The 31-year-old was previously under the mistaken impression that his previous bout would be the final fight of his run with the UFC, telling media ahead of UFC 278 that he was unsure of what his next move might be, but that he and the UFC “need to talk.” Whether or not he’ll still be open to negotiations after his bout against Whittaker remains to be seen.
In his last outing, Costa (14-2) defeated former champion Luke Rockhold via unanimous decision. The victory snapped a two-fight losing skid for the fighter, with defeats at the hands of champion Israel Adesanya and top contender Marvin Vettori, in September 2020 and October 2021 respectively.
Costa is expected to take on Whittaker at UFC 284, on February 12, in Perth, Australia. So far, an official main event for the card is yet to be announced by the promotion. However, expectations are that the card will play host to Islam Makhachev’s first lightweight title defense, against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.