Paulo
Costa wants to bring excitement back to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division.
Costa (16-4) recently slammed former champions Jiri
Prochazka and Magomed
Ankalaev, calling Prochazka “dumb” for his loss to current
champ Carlos
Ulberg and labeling Ankalaev’s last bout “boring.” The former
middleweight title challenger is now eyeing a title shot.
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Paulo Costa unloads on Magomed Ankalaev after UFC Abu Dhabi
while making his case for a UFC light heavyweight title shot
Following Ankalaev’s stoppage of Bogdan
Guskov at
UFC Abu Dhabi, Costa has taken repeated shots at the Russian.
Despite Ankalaev securing a late finish, their recent bout was
lackluster, primarily due to Guskov backtracking throughout. Costa
now claims the former 205-pound king is closer to getting cut from
the roster than the title.
Costa also slammed Prochazka for his lapse in judgment against
Ulberg, wherein the latter clearly suffered a leg injury in the
opening round. Prochazka noticed the injury but opted against
taking advantage of it before “Black Jag” knocked him out.
Speculating on whom he should fight next, Costa has taken to social
media to ask fans to weigh in.
“Some say I should fight Jiri or Ankalaev,” Costa wrote on
Instagram. “Jiri’s coming off a dumb loss and Ankalaev, after sat
another super boring fight, is closer to getting cut than to the
title. What u think about it?”
“Borrachinha” also posted a clip from a podcast wherein former UFC
fighter Kenny
Florian and commentator Jon Anik discussed Ankalaev’s crowd
reception at UFC Abu Dhabi. Florian even proposed Costa’s name for
the next light heavyweight title shot. In the post’s caption, Costa
highlighted that Ankalaev was booed in Abu Dhabi, which is usually
considered home turf for Dagestani fighters.
Costa is coming off back-to-back upset wins over Roman
Kopylov and a previously undefeated Azamat
Murzakanov.