Paulo Costa is once again putting the UFC’s decision-making under the microscope. This time, one recent title move has given ‘The Eraser’ another reason to question how consistently the promotion applies its own standards. And for die-hard fans who follow the rankings, injuries, and title picture closely, Costa’s complaint is not easy to brush aside. He believes some fighters are being treated very differently from others, and now he is pointing directly at the decisions that have left him asking one simple question: why?

“YEAH ITS REALLY inconvenient; the UFC doesn’t have a consistent standard of behavior or set of rules—they use double standards all the time,” Costa replied to Cris Cyborg on X. “Another thing is, why on earth is Alex still ranked at Light Heavyweight after fighting and losing at Heavyweight?” “And why is he ranked 4th at Heavyweight without a single win there—ahead of Joshua @Josh_HokitUFC?”

Paulo Costa’s comments came after Cyborg made a similar point about Kayla Harrison and Valentina Shevchenko. Both fighters have spent long stretches on the sidelines, and Cyborg questioned why ‘Doug’ isn’t being held to the same standard.

“Judo @KaylaH last fight was June 2025,” she tweeted. “@BulletValentina last fight was November 15, 2025. If they’re making Valentina vacate her belt, then both should lose the title.”

If ‘Bullet’ had to give up her belt because an injury kept her out of action, the argument goes, Kayla Harrison should be facing the same pressure.

At UFC Paris, it was revealed that Shevchenko could be out for up to a year, forcing the promotion to move on from her as champion. As a result, Natalia Silva and Wang Cong are now set to fight for the vacant flyweight title at UFC 332.

For Paulo Costa, though, that decision only made the situation at light heavyweight harder to ignore.

Carlos Ulberg’s injury is also expected to keep him sidelined for a long time, potentially until the second half of 2027. ‘The Eraser’ saw that as the perfect opportunity for the UFC to introduce an interim 205-pound title.

Costa even publicly offered to step in and fight for it, basically volunteering to “save” the division while Ulberg is out. But the UFC simply wasn’t interested.

“UFC stripped Valentina out From her Belt due injury,” Costa wrote on X yesterday. “Also, Carlos Ulberg is injured and MAYBE fight second semester 2027.

“Put the LHW interim belt in line, and I WILL COME TO SAVE THE LHW DIVISION! UFC REFUSED TO PUT LWH INTERIM BELT IN LINE. Why? I dont know.”

And Paulo Costa’s beef with the UFC doesn’t stop with the title picture. He is taking aim at the rankings too, with Alex Pereira right in the crosshairs. Costa questioned why Pereira is still ranked at light heavyweight after moving up to heavyweight and losing there. In his eyes, if ‘Poatan’ has moved on to 265, why is he still holding a place in the 205-pound rankings?

‘The Eraser’ also questioned Pereira’s heavyweight ranking, pointing out that the former champion sits at No. 4 despite having yet to pick up a win in the division. To Costa, it makes little sense that Pereira is ranked that high while sitting ahead of Josh Hokit.

The timing of Costa’s criticism is also hard to ignore. ‘Borrachinha’ has picked up back-to-back wins and now has just one fight left on his UFC deal. He is not looking to waste that final bout on a random matchup.

The 35-year-old wants something meaningful, whether that is a big name, a major fight, or a title opportunity. His push for an interim light heavyweight belt went nowhere, but it has clearly done little to cool his frustration with the UFC.

And this is hardly the first time Costa has questioned how the promotion is being run.

Paulo Costa believes UFC is ‘lost’ without Dana White more involved

Paulo Costa has been taking shots at the UFC’s decision-making for a while now. Earlier this year, the Brazilian went a step further, blaming some of the promotion’s recent missteps on Dana White no longer being as hands-on with matchmaking as he used to be.

That frustration also comes at a crucial point in Costa’s UFC career. He said he reached out to the promotion in June, hoping to fight in July or August after his April win. But according to the 35-year-old, the UFC still hadn’t figured out what it wanted to do with him.

“Dana White is greatly missed,” Paulo Costa said in an interview with Sexto Round. “The UFC is lost. They’re making a lot of mistakes because of fear and a lack of timing.

“If I said, ‘OK, I don’t mind being tied down, being undervalued, and getting paid less than I deserve,’ I’d probably be fighting for the interim title by now. But I think that would be a mistake. I know UFC champions who make half of what I make.”

Costa later made his contractual position clear, saying he would not accept a five-round non-title fight for his final bout.

“I have only one fight to become free agent,” Costa wrote on X. “If there no belt on the line, I’m gonna fight someone else for 3 rds and get out of the UFC contract.”

The UFC, for now, doesn’t seem interested in changing course. Rather than introduce an interim light heavyweight title, the promotion appears ready to wait for Carlos Ulberg to make his comeback after suffering an ACL injury during his knockout win over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 327 in April.

However, his return isn’t expected until sometime in 2027.

That leaves Paulo Costa in limbo, but definitely not keeping quiet. While ‘The Eraser’ waits to find out what comes next, his criticism of the UFC is only getting louder.

At this point, his frustration clearly goes beyond his own next fight. Costa believes the promotion has some explaining to do, and he seems more than willing to keep asking the uncomfortable questions.