Not many thought that Reinier de Ridder would get as far as he has in the UFC, as it seems like a title shot may not be far away. Unlike the other fighters coming from rival promotions, the Dutchman has impressed Dana White, and now, he’s slated to fight Anthony Hernandez, who hasn’t lost a fight in half a decade. However, that could be in jeopardy after what former title contender Paulo Costa had to say on social media.

The UFC is heading to Qatar this year, and they wanted Paulo Costa to fight Sharaputdin Magomedov. Unfortunately for ‘Borrachinha’, the Russian fighter had to withdraw due to medical issues, leaving him without a fight and an opponent. But then, Costa claims he received a call from Dana White and Co., asking him if he can be ready in the next few weeks for a fight against a top-5er.

“After Shara pulled out I got some news…Somebody hurts in the main event so UFC called me to fighting an top5 in few weeks for 5 rounds,” Paulo Costa wrote on X. “To be fair, I propose 3 rounds due short time and guess what, he said no for 3 rounds. What heck! Cowards … gonna exposing them My Vintage version is back and people are scared.”

Now, the only middleweight fight including a top 5 fighter is the one between Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez. They are scheduled to fight next month in Vancouver, Canada, and a lot of people believe that there are huge implications in their matchup. Paulo Costa could find himself replacing ‘Fluffy’ to fight de Ridder because people are convinced. The Brazilian star finds himself in the title picture if he can make the best of this opportunity.

Well, things may not have worked out for one fight, but it did for the other. If what Paulo Costa is saying turns out to be true, he’s got a way better fight, as it can help him earn a title shot compared to fighting ‘Shara Bullet,’ who’s not even ranked in the division yet. But on the other hand, Costa has another thing to worry about. It appears that a featherweight fighter has beef with ‘Borrachinha’.

Paulo Costa gets warned by a featherweight fighter

Before Jean Silva lost to Diego Lopes in the main event of UFC Noche, he revealed that there is no love lost between him and Paulo Costa. Claiming that his and ‘Borrachina’s “energy just don’t match,” the Fighting Nerds member expressed that he absolutely dislikes his fellow Brazilian UFC fighter. Silva is very much open to fighting Costa in the streets, even though he understands there is a huge weight difference between them.

“We can explain that sometimes the energy just don’t match. That’s different people, different natures, different characters, and that’s just how it is. It’s always been my whole life. If I don’t like you, I’ll just straight up say it to your face. I just don’t like you,” Jean Silva told Full Send MMA. “Like ‘Borrachinha,’ I just don’t like him very much. But he’s huge, in a different weight class, so I’m never going to fight him. But in the streets, all bets are off. F—Paulo Costa.”

Well, this fight is certainly not happening inside the UFC, but the one against Reinier de Ridder could just be next for Paulo Costa. But we’ll have to wait for the announcement from Dana White himself, so in the meantime, let us know what you think about the Brazilian star potentially taking on ‘RDR’ in the comments section below.