Paulo Costa, a top UFC middleweight, is ready to make waves before 2025 ends. After his latest victory, he’s pushing hard to face former champion Dricus Du Plessis in a high-stakes fight. Speaking on Submission Radio, Costa shared why he’s drawn to Du Plessis’s unpredictable style, making it clear he’d rather take on the South African than revisit a fight with Israel Adesanya.
Costa’s Push for Du Plessis
Costa respects Du Plessis’s toughness and recent title run.
“Dricus better because he is fresh from the belt,” he said. “He’s so unpredictable. He’s a tough guy to fight, to be honest. Khamzat Chimaev knew that – that’s why he hold him for so long. Even in the fifth round, Dricus was still dangerous, and Chimaev was afraid to fight him. He just held the guy for 25 minutes. Horrible.”
He’s targeting a year-end showdown.
“Potentially (November, December), that would be a great fight,” Costa said of facing Du Plessis. “A huge fight. I stopped fighting the UFC. Now we are friends. Now we are partners. I said this to Hunter (Campbell), and Dana (White). They’re going to bring a good match, a fun match. I’m 100 percent on that.”
Du Plessis lost his middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in August 2025. Costa believes Chimaev’s grappling-heavy approach showed how dangerous Du Plessis remains, making him a better matchup than a rematch with Adesanya, who stopped Costa in 2020.
Costa entered the UFC in 2017 with an undefeated 10-0 record. Known as “Borrachinha,” he kicked off with a second-round TKO over Garreth McLellan. He racked up stoppages against Oluwale Bamgbose, Johny Hendricks, and Uriah Hall, cementing his status as a knockout threat by 2018.
In September 2020, Costa challenged Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 253 but was stopped in round two, his first career loss. He prefers to avoid a rematch with Adesanya for now, favoring the fresh challenge of Du Plessis. Costa rebounded from the Adesanya loss with a decision win over Marvin Vettori in October 2021 but faced losses to Robert Whittaker in February 2022 and Sean Strickland in June 2024. His win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 in July 2025 brought his record to 15-4, with 7 UFC wins.
His improved relationship with UFC leaders Dana White and Hunter Campbell fuels his confidence in landing this fight by December 2025, possibly at UFC 320. Costa sees it as a chance to deliver a crowd-pleaser and climb back toward the title.
