Paulo Costa has made it clear who he wants next. After returning to the win column in July 2025 with a hard-fought, unanimous decision victory against Roman Kopylov, the Brazilian middleweight is already looking for bigger challenges. While both Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis are on his radar, Costa’s recent comments indicate that he prefers a one-on-one against the South African over the former champion.

The middleweight division has rarely been so competitive. Dricus du Plessis may have lost his belt to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319, but he remains the top-ranked contender and a proven force after defeating Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. Meanwhile, Adesanya is going through the most difficult period of his career, having lost three fights in a row and falling to fourth place in the rankings.

So, in this context, Paulo Costa’s choice reflects both opportunity and timing. Speaking with Submission Radio, Costa agreed that both names sounded great, but du Plessis stood out as the more appealing opponent. “Sounds good. The both of them. Sounds good. But Dricus is better, right? Because he’s fresh from the belt,” Costa explained.

His reasoning is based on the fact that Dricus du Plessis has recently won a title, making him a valuable target for anyone looking to stay in the mix at the top. Costa also commended du Plessis’ fighting technique, describing him as one of the fiercest in the division. “Oh my god. Unpredictable. He’s so unpredictable. Yeah, he’s a tough guy. Tough guy to fight, to be honest.”

To make things more interesting, the Brazilian then revealed on the podcast that he also made a deal with Dana White and matchmaker Hunter Campbell to bring him the best fights. So, it sure looks like his dream fight with the South African may come to fruition, as he revealed, “I stopped to fight against UFC. Now we are friends. Now we are partners. You know, I told this to Hunter and Dana. I said, ‘Guys, hey, now we’re partners. Let’s play together.'”

He further added, “So I’m relaxed. I’m chill, right? Then let them work a little bit on that, and they’re going to bring a good match, a fun match. I am 100% on that.” Costa sees du Plessis as a dangerous but rewarding test and one that would deliver a blockbuster event for fans. As for his ongoing feud with Chimaev, that is something fans would love to see culminate in a title fight.

But would Costa actually want to go one-on-one against ‘Borz’? Well, that remains a tough question considering the fact that ‘The Eraser’ hates Chimaev’s fight technique. In fact, it might even kill the promotion, according to the #13-ranked middleweight.

Paulo Costa goes off on Khamzat Chimaev’s fight style

For Paulo Costa, Chimaev’s victory over du Plessis was not only uninteresting but also detrimental to the sport’s spirit. Costa, fresh off his own rebound win and openly asking for major fights, couldn’t help but be frustrated by the new champion’s uninspired performance. “This is a show. This is entertainment,” Costa stated bluntly on Ariel Helwani’s show.

“This kind of fight, and fighter, has a lot of potential to kill this business. He did horrible. This is horrible for the watchers. People will watch something else. They will not watch these guys hugging each other for 25 minutes.” His disbelief grew stronger when Dana White praised Chimaev’s performance during the press conference. ‘The Eraser’ also stated that he doubts Chimaev’s ability to impose that style on him.

“Romero is a high-level wrestler and very good also. He couldn’t put me down,” Costa said of his 2020 war. “The same when I fight Khamzat—the same is going to happen.” Paulo Costa believes that with his combination of striking power and wrestling defense, he is the only fighter capable of exposing Chimaev’s limits while also reigniting excitement in the division. So, will he be able to do it? Well, it looks like he will have to go through Dricus du Plessis first to be able to do that.