Photo: Wikipedia — Paulo Costa (CC BY-SA)Paulo Costa
"The Eraser / Borrachinha"
First clean shot ends the night.
Fight Plan: Paulo Costa
A coach-ready game plan — historical weaknesses opponents have exploited and what to drill in camp.
- Susceptible to high-level counter-punching and lateral movement
- Leg kick defense is a notable vulnerability against technical kickers
- Gas tank can fade in high-altitude or 5-round durations under maximum output
- Constant lateral movement to break their rhythm
- High-pace pressure in rounds 2–3 to drain output
- Stack southpaw sparring partners in camp
Fighter fingerprint
Six-axis profile — the shape tells you the style at a glance.
Aggression and Finishing are the standout edges; opponents should expect their game plan to lean on these.
- Aggression85
- Cardio68
- Wrestling72
- Fight IQ70
- Distance Control77
- Finishing81
Prep for camp: Paulo Costa
Recommendations a coach can act on tomorrow — opponent tendencies, drills, and the sparring styles to stack against this fight.
- Applies relentless forward pressure to trap opponents against the cage
- Works the body heavily with hooks and roundhouse kicks to deplete opponent gas tanks
- Relies on a high-volume power-punching style, landing 6.15 significant strikes per minute
- Pad work on cutting their right-side cage exits
- Force a high-pace round 1 — break the gas tank early
- Win exchanges with volume, not single shots — they walk through power
- Southpaw pressure striker
- High-output kickboxer with heavy leg kicks
- Switch-stance technician to simulate game-plan changes
See it on film
Every read above should be verifiable. Jump straight to the footage on the platforms that host it legally — official channels first, archive sites second.
Entries, cage control, scrambles, submissions
Last 3 performances, full rounds and post-fight breakdowns
Coaches: official clip embeds per fighter are coming next — for now, deep links open searches pre-filtered to Paulo Costa.
How Paulo has changed
Trend lines across the last three years of tape.
Synthesized from recent fight tape · refresh to recompute
Stylistic neighbors
Closest matches across attributes, finish profile, and discipline — useful for sparring partner selection.
Status / Injuries
Last competed April 2026 without reports of injury.
Checked 6/21/2026
Recent Form
- W2026-04-11vs Azamat MurzakanovKO/TKO · R3 · UFC 327: Prochazka vs. Ulberg
- W2025-07-19vs Roman KopylovU-DEC · R3 · UFC 318: Holloway vs. Poirier 3
- L2024-06-01vs Sean StricklandS-DEC · R5 · UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier
- L2024-02-17vs Robert WhittakerU-DEC · R3 · UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria
- W2022-08-20vs Luke RockholdU-DEC · R3 · UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2
Availability
Coming off a TKO victory over Azamat Murzakanov.
Attribute Profile
Scouting Summary
Costa is a physical powerhouse who thrives on high-volume pressure and devastating body-head combinations. While originally a Middleweight standout, his move to Light Heavyweight has maintained his power while slightly improving its sustainability through 3-round distances.
Primary source ↗Tendencies
- Applies relentless forward pressure to trap opponents against the cage
- Works the body heavily with hooks and roundhouse kicks to deplete opponent gas tanks
- Relies on a high-volume power-punching style, landing 6.15 significant strikes per minute
- Uses a wide, squared-up stance that maximizes power but leaves him open to leg kicks
Signature Moves
- Liver shot hook
- Rear-leg roundhouse body kick
- Head kick (used in TKO of Murzakanov)
- Short-range clinch elbows
- Overhand right/left hook combinations
Weaknesses
- Susceptible to high-level counter-punching and lateral movement
- Leg kick defense is a notable vulnerability against technical kickers
- Gas tank can fade in high-altitude or 5-round durations under maximum output