Frustrated Paulo Costa vows to bring back old style after UFC 302 loss: ‘F*ck points or conserving energy’

Six years have passed since Paulo Costa’s most recent UFC knockout. He’s determined to change that after another frustrating night at UFC 302.

Costa dropped his fourth bout over his past five UFC appearances on Saturday when he suffered a listless decision defeat to Sean Strickland in UFC 302’s five-round co-main event. It was yet another setback for the one-time title challenger. Since kicking off his MMA career as a ferocious knockout artist, punctuated by four consecutive knockouts to start his UFC run from 2017-18, Costa has shifted to a more patient and conservative style, fighting to decisions in five of his past six bouts, with the lone exception being his second-round knockout loss to then-UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in 2020.

At UFC 302’s post-fight press conference, Strickland even criticized Costa for “running” throughout their non-title bout. And now Costa has had enough.

On Sunday, the frustrated 33-year-old middleweight vowed to return to his old barnstorming ways in a lengthy and since-deleted video on social media platform X.

“I will bring back the [old] Paulo to take heads off, to finish the fight,” Costa said. “I’m not that kind of counter [fighter], sorry, I’m not that kind of counter guy. I do better [when I] move forward and try to finish and look for heads.

“I have the power, so I need to deliver that — and I will do that. I won’t give a f*ck. F*ck points or conserving energy or f*ck anything about that. I will come to take heads off. And this is who I am, this is the kind of fighter I am, and the fighter who people expect that I perform [as]. So I will do that. F*ck points, I’ve [had] enough of this.”

Costa’s entire promise can be read below, which was accompanied by the caption, “Heard me?”

“I just came to say a few words. Yeah, Sean won. I didn’t perform very well. I think he didn’t either, but at least he did enough to win, right? This is two losses in a row in three fights, three former champs — Luke Rockhold, [Robert] Whittaker, and Sean. I won one and lost two. But let me tell you something, I agree with Dana [White] and Joe Rogan, and I will do that — I will bring back the [old] Paulo to take heads off, to finish the fight. I’m not that kind of counter [fighter], sorry, I’m not that kind of counter guy. I do better [when I] move forward and try to finish and look for heads. Sean is so awkward, so different kind of fighter to fight against, it’s difficult. He was teeping me, keeping [away], pushing me, keep pushing me, keep me far from him, because he knows the power that I have. And I have the power, so I need to deliver that — and I will do that. I won’t give a f*ck. F*ck points or conserving energy or f*ck anything about that. I will come to take heads off. And this is who I am, this is the kind of fighter I am, and the fighter who people expect that I perform [as]. So I will do that. F*ck points, I’ve [had] enough of this. Even the first round that I was 100 percent sure that I won, some people thought I lost. F*ck them. I will come to take heads off. That’s it, who I am.”

Costa (14-4) has now lost two bouts in a row at the hands of Strickland and Robert Whittaker. His only win since 2019 came in a 2022 decision over Luke Rockhold. Oddly enough, the Brazilian talent does not own a victory over anyone on the current UFC roster.