Paulo Costa is looking to finalize his next contract with the UFC, but some issues still stand in the way.
In the UFC middleweight division, there are many talented fighters. Among the top ten, it seems that any man could fight his way to a title shot very soon. However, one of the most popular in that division is Brazilian, Paulo Costa. Costa has a large following on social media and has the skills to back it up in the cage. He was in the running for a title contender fight earlier this year against Robert Whittaker, but contract negotiations got in the way.
Costa began to speak out about his frustrations with the UFC and his current contract. He backed out of the Whittaker fight and even discussed leaving the UFC altogether. Now he is explaining what is holding up his new contract, one that is slated to make him the highest-paid Brazilian fighter on the roster.
Paulo Costa wants his secret juice to be a partner in the UFC
Costa has a running gag that involves him drinking a substance he calls “Secret Juice.” This joke has become a business venture for him. He has begun selling merchandise with his “Secret Juice” logo on it and even plans to sell the actual drink very soon. Costa was a guest on The MMA Hour to discuss his contract progress and although he admits that it is not a done deal yet, he expects things to progress quickly.
Costa was asked if the rumors about him being paid one million dollars per fight were true and he answered yes. To that end, he was asked what the hold-up was and he shed some light on his demands.
“We have different ways to do different things, not so common things, like why not put the Secret Juice as a partner of the UFC?” he said.
Of course, the UFC has partnered with other fighter brands in the past. They brought in Conor McGregor’s Proper 12 whiskey as a sponsor, but Costa feels they will not be doing this for him. The UFC recently signed a deal with Logan Paul’s drink brand called Prime. Secret Juice could be considered a competitor of Prime.
