Paulo Costa is done being pushed around; sends ultimatum to the UFC.
It’s clear that the Brazilian is unhappy with his current situation under the UFC banner. After growing frustrated with their lack of effort toward his career, Costa sought out Eddie Hearn to act as his manager. Since then, the former middleweight title challenger has made several demands of his employer. With one fight remaining on his contract, Costa believes he should be in the driver’s seat regarding his immediate future, whether inside or outside of the octagon. But the UFC isn’t playing ball.
Instead of allowing him to run down his contract, Paulo Costa has confirmed that Hunter Campbell and the UFC are making his life difficult. While he has one three-round bout left before he is free, Costa claimed the promotion is trying to book him a five-round fight without a pay increase.
“Ok, I’m making this public and clear,” Costa wrote on X. “I have 1 fight left on my contract. The purse is set for 3 rounds, not 5. I’m asking for the 3-round fight that was already agreed on contract. It can be anyone on the UFC LHW roster.”
Not willing to sit back and let his latter years in the sport go to waste, Paulo Costa has handed an ultimatum to Campbell. His options: a three-round fight, a five-round fight with more pay, or a full contract termination.
Now more than ever, free agency in combat sports is a great place to be. There are tons of viable options for athletes of Costa’s calibre. Boxing seems to be a popular dream of many MMA fighters, but the newly founded Ki MMA and Jake Paul‘s venture into the sport with MVP MMA on Netflix are just two lucrative options that now exist.
Wanting clarification on his UFC tenure, Costa added:
“I think Hunter has 3 options now: A) Give me that last 3-round fight (I’ll take any opponent). B) Give me a 5-round fight at LHW against anyone in 6 weeks. I’ll take it, BUT raise my purse accordingly. That’s the minimum that’s fair, right? C) Release me from my contract now. Simple and clean. I hope everyone understands.”
Ok, I’m making this public and clear:
I have 1 fight left. On my contract The purse is set for 3 rounds, not 5. I’m asking for the 3-round fight that was already agreed on contract . It can be anyone on the UFC LHW roaster.I think Hunter has 3 options now:
A) Give me that last…— Paulo Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA) September 20, 2026