Paulo Costa renews call for UFC release after failed UFC 332 saga: This is a disaster
Paulo Costa is still struggling to finish out his UFC contract after earning a stellar light heavyweight win over Azamat Murzakanov in April. Had negotiations gone more smoothly, Costa may have been back in action only a matter of weeks from now.
Speaking on Wednesday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show," Costa revealed that he's aske d for his UFC release at least twice this year. Costa said he went directly to the powers that be in January and requested his release, but was declined. He then had his manager and girlfriend, Tamara Alves, try once more a few days ago.
Costa, 35, has one fight left on his UFC contract before he is a free agent.
"They refused, 'No, you need to do one more, at least,'" Costa told Uncrowned.
"I am in the group [conversation] with [UFC CBO Hunter Campbell] and [UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard], but they say, 'No, we're not going to release you.'"
According to Costa, Alves and UFC officials have been communicating weekly. He said his initial request for a release in January came after an offer to fight middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder on short notice. Presumably, that fight ultimately went to Caio Borralho in March, as Borralho wound up being de Ridder's next opponent.
Costa last fought at UFC 327 in April, when he became the first person to defeat Murzakanov. It took a third-round head kick to get the job done for the heavy-hitting Brazilian, but it still wasn't enough to earn him a $100,000 post-fight bonus.
Costa claimed his latest release request came after the news broke of UFC 332's main-event lineup for Salt Lake City on Oct. 3. The card will be headlined by a vacant women's flyweight title tilt between ranked contenders, Natalia Silva and Wang Cong, with now-former champion Valentina Shevchenko vacating her belt due to injury. Significant online criticism has since arisen over the quality of Silva vs. Cong as a main event for one of the UFC's numbered events, which historically are meant to be the promotion's best cards.
As it stands, the light heavyweight title remains in limbo as the champion, Carlos Ulberg, heals from a torn ACL sustained during his title-winning bout against Jiri Prochazka. Ulberg's injury left open the potential for Costa to fight for an interim title at the very least, which he believes would've strongly enhanced UFC 322's overall card value.
Costa isn't expecting Ulberg to recover until the end of 2026 at the absolute earliest.
"I'm sad because I think we could have given a much better fight card going on for the Salt Lake City fans," Costa said. "I don't think fans are so happy. I'm not happy.
"I've asked to fight since May. I asked them to fight in June, July, August. They told me to wait. I don't know why. Maybe because the light heavyweight division is a little uncertain, it didn't have too much fighters available. The guys coming from losses and stuff. So, I was waiting and asking for a fight.
"They first came up with [an offer on] five days' short notice [for] Abu Dhabi," Costa continued. "Of course I say, 'Come on.' Any time, give me a decent date, give me a schedule. They didn't give me that. I asked to fight in Salt Lake City. I asked to fight everywhere. California, UFC Noche [in Arizona], but for some reason, UFC doesn't want to put the interim light heavyweight belt on the line. I think this is a disaster."
Moving forward, Costa plans to get into the Eddie Hearn business alongside Matchroom Talent Agency. Costa recently met with Hearn and said he had a contract sent out a couple of days ago — prior to the UFC 332 announcement — that will see Hearn become his new manager and handle sponsorships.
With this impending partnership, Costa said he'll no longer be working with longtime manager Tiki Ghosn.
"I have too much respect for what [Hearn is] doing," Costa said. "He's a great guy, a great professional. I think we're going to do great things together.
"I just need to send back the email. I think everything is set up, and I'm so excited. ... He knows the business very well. He's a super important person in the fight business. Not only in MMA, but not only in boxing, but he's coming to MMA right now. I think this is a great acquisition for the MMA community."
Costa's alliance with Hearn comes at a time in the fight business that, from an outside perspective, looks murky. Hearn and UFC CEO Dana White have been embroiled in a volatile promoter feud since White arrived in boxing with his Zuffa Boxing brand.
The mud-slinging between both sides has been extremely public, and Costa isn't ignorant of what he's attaching himself to. Regardless, he doesn't expect it to affect his standing with the promotion, even given his current rocky status.
"I don't put too much attention on this beef between them," Costa said.
"If they have this big, bad blood between them, it's not about me, you know? We're professionals, guys. I'm just seeing Ryan Garcia fight [Conor Benn this Saturday], and I think [Garcia's] still represented by Oscar [De La Hoya], right? And Oscar had that beef against Dana. I think they are very professional. Much more than we thought."
Ultimately, the UFC negotiations Costa has been embroiled in have ruled out the possibility of him fighting in five-round bouts, whether main events or otherwise. The problem, he said, is the pay doesn't change in those discussions unless a title is involved.
Costa noted that he hasn't normally gotten paid more for five-round main events in the past, but has since realized that's an illogical agreement.
It's been an increasingly frustrating delay in Costa's career since his last fight, yet he still believes the UFC wants to keep him even after all the speaking out he's done.
"If they want five rounds, put the belt on the line," Costa said. "If they don't, pay the equivalent. Raise the payment. It is so simple. You just cannot ask people to work 60% more and pay the same. Nobody asks you to come to the job 9-to-5, you're going to get $5,000, and the next day they say they're gonna extend you until 10 p.m. and pay the same $5,000. It's so obvious. It doesn't work that way.
"If they want me to fight five rounds and there's no interim belt on the line, they should pay more."