UFC middleweight Paulo Costa revealed that, despite his #6 spot in the division’s rankings, he is still fighting on the entry-level contract he signed in 2017. Costa is supposedly set to face Robert Whittaker in Australia at UFC 284, but refuses to commit to the bout until his contract reflects his elite position and the level of his opponents. Costa discussed the issue in a recent interview with Submission Radio.
“The time for fighting for free has gone. I love MMA, but I cannot just fight for the love. I have bills to pay. I have got this same payment since 2017.
Costa Demands New Contract Ahead of UFC 284
So, it’s crazy. And I have fought the top-five guys and I get money as a beginner. So, [Campbell] agreed. He said, yeah, it’s totally out of date, we need to update this.
But after that they announced that fight against Robert. But I didn’t see any contract in my mail, on my table. I have nothing yet. I’m just waiting for Hunter to make his offer. Because he said, OK, we’ll make another offer and you see what you think about it.”
Costa clarified that a fight against Robert Whittaker, a former middleweight champion, is something he has long looked forward to. “This fight is one of my favorite fights that I wanted to make.
Because I appreciate the fighter that Robert is. He’s very good. Since I saw him fight, I thought, I want to fight this guy because he’s savage, you know, he puts a lot of desire in his fights. So, it should be a great fight, and I’d love to make that fight. It’s one of my favorite fights to make, of course.
But I don’t have any deal to do this fight. This is the bad part. I want to do this fight, but I don’t have a deal. UFC didn’t send me nothing. No contract, no offer yet. It’s a weird situation. I don’t know what’s going on with the UFC. Because you guys know, the UFC used to publish some fights when the fight is close, when the deal is on. But it’s not in this case. They asked me about Robert, if I should fight him. I said, ‘Yes, of course, it’ll be a pleasure to fight him.’ But they didn’t send any offer to fight him yet.”
Will Paulo Costa pull out of the Whittaker fight? Let us know your prediction in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Qwbhro104
