Former UFC champion calls out Paulo Costa for turning down fight offer

Reports suggest Paulo Costa has signed a new multi-fight deal with the UFC and is ready to make a surge towards the middleweight title, but according to a former champion, the Brazilian has turned down a potential clash with him.

'Borrachinha' was an undefeated powerhouse with some huge names on his resume before meeting Israel Adesanya and suffering his first loss in the sport. After then losing to Marvin Vettori, the South American recently got back into the winner's circle with a hard-fought victory over Luke Rockhold.

In a post on social media, former UFC light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz claimed that Paulo Costa refused a fight proposal between the two despite pushing the promotion to book him in a fight.

"So a few days ago Paulo Costa got offered to fight me. I've said YES, he said NO. The fight is OFF. How much juice does he need? 1 bottle of wine is enough to knock out this guy."

Paulo Costa has since responded to the fight offer. Check it out below.

Last time out, Jan Blachowicz failed to recapture the vacant light heavyweight strap as he battled to a split draw against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 282. Despite being firmly in title contention at 205, the European has signaled his intent at potentially moving down into the middleweight division.

His ideal matchup at 185lbs would be the rematch with Israel Adesanya, which he called for following the champion's knockout win over Alex Pereira earlier this month. The pair met two years ago as 'The Last Stylebender' attempted to become a two-division world champion, though it was the Pole who came out on top.

---

Alongside Jan Blachowicz, who else has Paulo Costa been rumored to fight?

Paulo Costa recently settled his dispute with the UFC and is ready to return to the octagon, but alongside Jan Blachowicz, who has the powerhouse been rumored to fight?

Before settling his differences with the promotion, the 31-year-old matched up against Robert Whittaker in an elite middleweight title eliminator bout, though this never came to fruition due to the knockout artist's problems with the UFC.

One fight Costa has been angling towards for some time is a super-fight against the undefeated fan-favorite Khamzat Chimaev, who is likely going to be competing at 185 next. The two had a run-in backstage at the UFC PI, which has led to a constant back-and-forth between them both on social media.