Paulo Costa 2024: Record, Net Worth, Salary and Ranking and More

Who is Paulo Costa?

Paulo Costa is arguably the most dangerous middleweight of this generation. The Brazilian fighter started his MMA career on the regional circuits of Brazil and eventually fought his way to the UFC. Costa started training in Muay Thai to learn self-discipline, as he often found himself getting involved in street fights.

'Borrachinha' began training under his older brother, who was also a mixed martial artist. He joined a Jiu-Jitsu gym but had to leave it after his father passed away. However, 'Borrachinha' returned to the gym after some time.

Besides that, he got involved in real estate and taught Microsoft Excel and Word to support his mother. As of January 2024, he sits at #6 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Paulo Costa’s Early Life

Costa was born 21st of April 1991 to Carlos Roberto and Maria Augusta in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He also has an elder brother, Carlo Costa. His father Carlos Roberto worked various odd jobs to sustain the family. He sadly passed away after a battle with throat cancer when Costa was only 17. Carlo was also a mixed martial artist, probably setting a precedent for young Paulo, and was also later one of the UFC champs coaches.

Apart from this, Costa's earlier career projects him to be quite tech-savvy. At one point in his life, he used to teach different computer software and similar gigs to help out his family financially. Nonetheless, not much about his educational qualifications is commonly known.

Paulo Costa’s Girlfriend

Paulo Costa is in a relationship with his long-time girlfriend Tamara Alves, who is quite the boss girl herself. She is a Civil engineer, and much like her partner, she is a fitness freak herself and has incorporated her passion as the founder of MundoFit. Her brand focuses on supplements and other fitness accessories.

The pair met each other in 2013, through Alves' cousin's husband, who trained with Costa in the same gym. And in a true rom-com fashion, he introduced "this very handsome guy at the gym" during a jiu-jitsu championship the gym was hosting. And despite greeting each other, they did not talk. However, later while Costa left an impression on Alves, he couldn't muster up the courage to ask for her number and asked her friend for that information instead. A classic!

Apart from this, Alves also reportedly manages his UFC affairs and Costa is reaping the benefits of being able to "kiss the manager."

Paulo Costa: Net Worth and Salary 2024

Costa is relatively new to the sport. However, he has received a decent amount of money for his fights, and overall, he has made over $938,167 in his UFC career according to The Sports Daily. This does not include undisclosed bonuses and other sources of income.

As of 2021, he has an estimated net worth of over $1 million, according to Media Referee. With more fights coming his way, many sources also estimated it to be double that.

Paulo Costa: UFC Career Timeline

Paulo Costa has an explosive style of fighting. Right off the bat, he puts a tremendous amount of pressure on his opponents. The Brazilian walks his opponents down and lands devastating body strikes that ultimately lead to openings.

Paulo Costa first appeared in the third season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, 2014. Although he won his first bout, 'The Eraser' lost his next fight via a split decision to Marcio Alexandre Jr. Fortunately for him, this loss does not appear on his pro record as it was considered an exhibition match.

Paulo Costa did not let the setback from TUF define his career. The middleweight continued racking up victories and went on an eight-fight win streak before joining the UFC. Surprisingly, Costa has garnered a lot of popularity, almost reaching a superstar already.

Costa put himself on the map after decimating former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 217. He then stopped Uriah Hall in his tracks and out-muscled Yoel Romero in the following year. His last bout was against Israel Adesanya, where he suffered his first-ever professional loss via technical knockout at UFC 253.

Next, he faced Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori. Despite losing the bout via decision, he redeemed himself in his next against Luke Rockhold. After this decision win, he is now set to face Robert Whittaker in UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria on February 17, 2024. His current record stands at 14-2-0.

Costa might not be the most accurate striker, but every strike he throws is meant to hurt the opposition. He throws a lot of those strikes in the opening rounds. However, this style of fighting has its own drawbacks. As Costa's cardio fades away as the fight progresses, it becomes very difficult for him to put the same pace as the first round. So he might be looking for a finish this time around against the mighty Whittaker.

Paulo Costa’s Major Achievements and Awards

Jungle Fight

• Middleweight Championship (One time)


• One successful title defense

Ultimate Fighting Championship

• Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Garreth McLellan and Uriah Hall [55][56]


• Fight of the Night (Two times) vs. Yoel Romero & Luke Rockhold[33][48]


• Third highest significant strike accuracy percentage in UFC Middleweight division history (59.4%)

MMAjunkie.com

• 2019 August Fight of the Month vs. Yoel Romero

Sherdog

• 2019 Round of the Year vs. Yoel Romero (round 1)

Paulo Costa’s KOs

• Paulo Costa vs. Uriah Hall, UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier, July 2018


• Paulo Costa vs. Johny Hendricks, UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre, November 2017


• Paulo Costa vs. Oluwale Bamgbose, UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway, June 2017


• Paulo Costa vs. Garreth McLellan, UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Gastelum, March 2017