In spite of the YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul’s criticism of Paulo Costa’s performance at UFC 278, Paulo Costa brushes off the possibility of them fighting one other.
When asked about the possibility of a battle with Paul, Costa didn’t completely dismiss the thought, but he did suggest another matchup that he believed would be more suitable for the boxing superstar.
“Of course, I’d like to get easy money fighting him,” Costa said Monday on The MMA Hour. “But I have a better challenge for him: Mike Perry.”
At UFC 278, Costa defeated Luke Rockhold through outpointing him and at BKFC 27, Perry defeated Michael “Venom” Page via outpoint in sudden death. Both fights took place on the same day. In the winner-take-all championship round, Perry, who was the underdog to win, managed to move ahead of the one-time interim title contender for Bellator.
“Mike Perry is almost the same weight class, Mike Perry’s a savage,” Costa explained. “If he wants a real fight, maybe fight Mike Perry.”
As for Costa, he said Paul is “not enough.”
“Sorry,” the Brazilian continued. “I’m so happy for him.”
Regular fans of Costa’s work should not discount the possibility of using reverse psychology. The middleweight fighter for the UFC, who is 31 years old, keeps everyone guessing online about whether or not he is genuine. And he does intend to test the waters of free agency if the UFC does not offer him a better contract once he completes the last bout of his current deal, which he will do after fulfilling all of his contractual obligations. He disclosed a take-home purse of $35,000 for a losing effort against Marvin Vettori; in addition, he was penalized 20 percent of his purse for a poor weight miss. The fight took place in the middleweight division.
When Paul referred to his battle against Rockhold as “a glorified street fight” and both UFC middleweights as “ez money,” it’s likely that Costa saw a little bit of himself in his adversary. However, he also brought some of his own reality into the discussion, which was a welcome addition.
“Jake Paul has been doing great things,” Costa said.
“He was just a YouTuber, and I think he did some TV shows, but he came into the fight business, and he did great. I need to recognize this. People inside the fight business, Tyron Woodley. But there’s a big difference fighting wrestlers for MMA and fighting strikers for MMA, and in my point of view, he does avoid these guys.
“He’s too new in this to challenge a big fight for him, and he’s very smart. He knows he’s just called out guys who he can absolutely 100 percent convinced he can beat those guys – Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. So stay out alongside from me and Luke Rockhold, because he cannot beat either.”
“Logan Paul is different,” Costa added later. “Logan Paul is bigger than him, Logan Paul is hungrier than him. He’s a very nice guy; I love Logan Paul. Jake Paul, I understand him, as well. He’s doing a great job.”
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