5 reasons why Paulo Costa deserves more respect than he gets from UFC fans

#2. Paulo Costa was unafraid to stand up to the UFC's questionable way of booking fights

Paulo Costa deserves respect for his willingness to stand up to the UFC's business practices.

Paulo Costa's record in the UFC should obviously warrant him plenty of respect from fans. However, if anything, his behavior outside the octagon should gain him even more.

'The Eraser' has never been afraid to speak his mind. He has talked trash with opponents such as Yoel Romero and Israel Adesanya, but he has also been more than willing to stand up to the UFC, too. While the UFC is the biggest MMA promotion in the world, there's no denying that its way of business could be better for its fighters.

Fighter pay is only one aspect of that. That's because there have been many complaints aired over the years about their practice of announcing fights before they've officially been signed, which essentially railroads fighters into accepting them.

That happened to Paulo Costa in August 2021, as the UFC announced that he'd be fighting Jared Cannonier in the headline bout of UFC Vegas 33.

Many fighters would simply have accepted the booking. However, 'The Eraser' – showing some serious guts – outright stated that he hadn't signed to fight Cannonier, and wouldn't be doing so due to issues with his pay.

Very few fighters are willing to stand up to the UFC in this way, as it's such a risk to do so when the promotion can cut them at any time. The fact that Paulo Costa did so shows serious nerve on his behalf – and ought to mean he gets more respect than he currently does from UFC fans.

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#1. Paulo Costa's finishing rate is second to none

Paulo Costa has only failed to finish his opponents on one occasion during his MMA career.

Perhaps the most impressive statistic about Paulo Costa – and the one that should warrant him more respect than he gets from UFC fans – is his insane finishing rate.

'The Eraser' holds an MMA record of 13-1. However, incredibly, he has only gone the distance in one of those wins – his 2019 victory over the ultra-tough Yoel Romero, who was never finished in his UFC career.

Sure, doubters could easily point to the fact that most of Paulo Costa's wins came on the Brazilian regional circuit, and only one of those opponents – Wagner Gomes – was a notable fighter.

However, 'The Eraser' has been just as deadly a finisher since arriving in the UFC in 2017. His ruthless finishes of Uriah Hall, Johny Hendricks and Oluwale Bamgbose were simply outstanding.

UFC President Dana White often uses the adage "don't leave a fight in the hands of the judges". However, that's often easier said than done.

Even lower-level opponents can often do just enough to survive against a higher level foe. Paulo Costa's opponent this weekend, Marvin Vettori, is a good example of that. 'The Italian Dream' is one of the best middleweights in the world, but of his 17 overall career wins, only six have gone the distance.

Therefore, any fighter who can finish their opponents off in almost all of their fights – as Paulo Costa has been able to do – deserves a tremendous amount of respect from fans.