Paulo Costa’s UFC 302 training is well underway! He will return to take on yet another middleweight contender in the form of former champion Sean Strickland. The Brazilian’s recent record hasn’t been up to the mark. The focus today is on a lesser-explored aspect of his fighting career: his gym, coaches, and teammates.

Paulo Costa has fought only once in the last couple of years. Injuries and fight cancellations have all contributed to his staying out of action. Moreover, when Costa returned to action at UFC 298, he lost. Now, he has a chance at redemption against a former champion at UFC 302. But who’s helping the Brazilian star prepare for his biggest UFC outing so far? Let’s have a look at that side of things.

Who are the Brazilian UFC star’s coach and teammates?

The first taste of martial training for Paulo Costa commenced when he was just nine years old. Currently, the 7th-ranked middleweight star trains at the Team Borracha gym, located in the city of Contagem in Brazil. Costa has different coaches to cater to the different aspects of his fighting style.

While Edvaldo Badola takes care of his boxing training, Lucas Wallace takes care of his striking training. However, Costa’s wrestling coach, Eric Albarracin, is not a part of Team Borracha. Instead, he has been with the UFC star ever since Costa decided to move on from Team Nogueira.

Albarracin has also coached the famous Pitbull brothers, who stamped their names in MMA history while in Bellator. Moreover, Costa has also been seen training at the Pitbull Brothers gym.

Paulo Costa once mentioned before his UFC 298 fight that he had somewhat transitioned from a grappler/wrestler to an anti-wrestler while training under Eric Albarracin. The sole focus turned to learning to control the battle solely on the feet rather than trying to take down his opponent.

When it comes to Paulo Costa’s teammates, there are quite a few of them. All of them are also Brazilians, including Wagner Reis, Alan Adler, and Felipe Morais, among many others. Moreover, Costa has only one teammate who’s currently a UFC roster member fighting in the flyweight division, Natalia Silva, who’s also yet to add a loss to her UFC record.

Does Paulo Costa own the gym where he trains?

If we look at the details of Paulo Costa’s gym, Team Borracha, on Tapology, it shows that he’s also a part owner of the gym. The other owner in the picture is Carlos ‘Borracha’ Costa, his brother. The gym is named after the latter’s nickname. However, we don’t have any concrete information regarding the ownership details of the 7th-ranked UFC star because he’s never opted to share anything regarding the same, not even on social media.

Paulo Costa is also a member of the staff of the gym, which means that he might also be helping others train. On the other hand, the 33-year-old has a nickname that bears a resemblance to the name of his gym. What could that mean? Let’s find out.

Is Costa’s nickname ‘Borrachinha’ connected to his gym’s name, ‘Team Borracha’?

As mentioned earlier, Paulo Costa’s brother’s nickname is ‘Borracha’. But what does that mean? In Portuguese, the word simply means rubber, which was given to Carlos Costa because of his flexible body. Later, the elder Costa decided to give his brother a nickname, ‘Borrachinha’, which means ‘little rubber man’.

This nickname also seems to be connected to the 33-year-old’s other nickname, ‘The Eraser’, which appears to be the English version of it. So yes, there is some kind of connection between his nickname and the gym that he presumably owns and trains at. Both brothers can stretch their bodies more than most people in their gym, and they have been appropriately nicknamed because of it.

Paulo Costa could find himself in title contention if he can make Sean Strickland bite the dust at UFC 302. Can’ Borrachinha’ overcome the former champion who took Israel Adesanya to the limit? We find out in a few days!