Paulo Costa

Overview

Four fights, four knockouts, none lasting past the second round. That was how Paulo Costa started his UFC career, and the loss column since has told a different story: three of his four UFC defeats came on the scorecards, not by being finished.

"The Eraser" fights out of Team Borracha at Light Heavyweight and sits at 8-4 in the UFC (16-4-0 across all promotions). He has two wins over elite opponents, and he carries a two-fight winning streak into his next fight.

Power first, everything else second.

UFC Career

Costa debuted in March 2017 with a 1:17 first-round stoppage of Garreth McLellan. Three more knockouts followed, all in round two: Oluwale Bamgbose at 1:06, Johny Hendricks at 1:23, and Uriah Hall at 2:38. Hendricks rated as a strong opponent in our model.

The fifth win broke the pattern. At UFC 241 in August 2019, he beat Yoel Romero, one of the elite opponents of his career, by unanimous decision. It was the first UFC win that went the distance, and it gave him a five-fight winning streak, his longest.

Then came the hardest stretch. He headlined UFC 253 against Israel Adesanya and lost by TKO at 3:59 of round two. It remains his only stoppage loss. He headlined again in October 2021 against Marvin Vettori, going five rounds and losing a unanimous decision.

A decision win over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 followed. Then two more losses to elite opposition: a unanimous decision to Robert Whittaker in February 2024, and a split decision to Sean Strickland in a five-round fight that June.

He has won his last two. He took a unanimous decision over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318, then stopped Azamat Murzakanov, an elite opponent, at 1:23 of round three at UFC 327.

Twelve fights, five finishes. The power is real.

Fighting Style

Paulo Costa is a busy, accurate striker. He lands a lot and wastes little, but he also takes more in return than most fighters, and his defense is about what you'd expect from the UFC average.

He is not a grappler. He rarely shoots for takedowns and rarely hunts for submissions, and he has no submission wins. He is hard to put on the mat, though, and opponents who try to take him down usually don't get there.

All five of his finishes are knockouts, with the other three wins coming by decision. One came in round one, three in round two and one in round three. Most of his stoppages arrive in the first two rounds.

Notable Wins

• Yoel Romero — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC 241 (2019)
• Azamat Murzakanov — KO/TKO, round 3, 1:23, UFC 327 (2026)
• Uriah Hall — KO/TKO, round 2, 2:38, UFC 226 (2018)
• Johny Hendricks — KO/TKO, round 2, 1:23, UFC 217 (2017)

Quick Facts

• Division: Light Heavyweight
• UFC record: 8-4 (5 KO/TKO wins, 3 decision wins)
• Professional record (all promotions): 16-4-0
• UFC debut: 2017
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height/reach: 6'1", 72" reach
• Team: Team Borracha
• Born: State of Minas Gerais, Brazil