Paulo Costa

UFC 241 and Title Contention

At UFC 241 in August 2019, Costa faced his toughest opponent yet in Yoel Romero. The fight was highly anticipated, as Romero was returning after more than a year away following his June 2018 loss to champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 225. Costa won the closely contested bout via unanimous decision, though the result was controversial and met with loud boos from the audience, many of whom favored Romero. Despite the crowd's reaction, the win positioned Costa as the next top contender for the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Costa challenged Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 253 in September 2020 and lost by second-round TKO, the first defeat of his career. He then lost a decision to Marvin Vettori in 2021, beat Luke Rockhold by decision at UFC 278 in 2022, and lost decisions to Robert Whittaker (UFC 298) and Sean Strickland (UFC 302) in 2024. He returned to winning ways with a unanimous decision over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 in July 2025, and in April 2026 moved up to light heavyweight, stopping previously unbeaten Azamat Murzakanov with head kicks in the third round at UFC 327, improving his record to 16–4.

Personal Life and Social Media Presence

As of now, Paulo Costa is not married and does not have children. His long-time partner, Tamara Alves, has also served as his manager. He has chosen to dedicate the majority of his time and energy to his fighting career. Costa is also active on social media, particularly Instagram, where he has amassed a following of over 450,000 fans. Through his platform, he shares training updates, promotional content, and glimpses into his life outside the cage.