Paulo Costa Deserves a New Contract After UFC 278
At UFC 278, Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold put on a show. After three rounds of madness in the elevation of Salt Lake City, Utah, the pair left the octagon bruised and bloodied. Each fighter deserves credit for their performance. For Rockhold, that means eternal respect and legend status while Costa deserves a new UFC contract.
Before UFC 278, Costa said his fight with Rockhold would be the last fight on his UFC contract. After the fight, he said he may have one more fight on his current deal. Regardless of whether Costa’s deal has expired, he deserves a new contract from the UFC.
Most importantly, the UFC middleweight division desperately needs Costa. In my opinion, the middleweight division is one of the shallowest UFC divisions. I won’t waste everyone’s time by giving my thoughts and opinions on each fighter in the top 15, but the rankings include a handful of underwhelming names. Costa is not only better than a lot of ranked fighters, but he is more entertaining too.
I would understand why people have negative opinions of Costa. He has been quite unprofessional in the past claiming to be hungover in his title fight with Israel Adesanya and missing weight for his bout with Marvin Vettori. At UFC 278, he acted far more professional showing up in great shape. I think it would be a mistake to let him walk for behaviors that he has clearly changed.
At 31, Costa still has a lot left in the tank. He may not be a championship-caliber fighter while Adesanya rules the middleweight division, but at a minimum, he could serve as an entertaining gatekeeper in a shallow division. If he still has title hopes, a move to light heavyweight may be of interest. I am sure plenty of fans would love to see Costa fight the likes of Jiri Prochazka, Jan Blachowicz, Jamahal Hill, and other elite members of the light heavyweight division.
Dana White admitted letting Shane Burgos walk was a mistake. The UFC cannot afford to repeat the same mistake with Costa. Thankfully, it appears like he agrees.
