"Ikram will smoke you" - Paulo Costa’s lackluster return-to-training footage sparks concerns from UFC fans

Paulo Costa is nearing his return to the octagon after close to a full year of inactivity.

The No.7-ranked middleweight last fought at UFC 278 in August 2022. He is set to face Ikram Aliskerov on the main card of UFC 291 in two weeks.

'Borrachinha' took to Twitter to share footage of himself doing bag work in preparation for his upcoming bout, captioning the post:

"Putting that work"

Check out Paulo Costa's tweet below:46-16 career record and an 18-8 record in two years with the Volunteers

Fans responded to the post by trolling Costa with plenty of criticism. @GigaDoBronx claimed:

"Ikram will smoke you gang gang"

@ratioedbysean stated:

"My grandma punches harder"

@Lusavez critiqued the footage:

"Hammering the right it's a bad habit bring the right cross back to a guarding position instead throwing the right and leaving an opening other than that you are looking good champ"

@Nickk1061 advised Costa to keep his hands up:

"Hands up bro you should know that, also is that Henry cejo?"

@Dobbie008 wrote he would like to see Costa fight Dricus du Plessis:

"You vs DDP would be a great fight. But you need to start fighting, Mr. Millionaire."

@HonestMMA_ stated:

"You will definitely need to, Ikram is coming"

@unceanly doubted that Costa will make it to the fight:

"Jesus returning before you fight my guy"

@goldenpars8 claimed 'Borrachinha' can beat Aliskerov and Khamzat Chimaev consecutively, stating:

"Borrachina looking like he could Beat Ikram and Gourmet chen chen back to back without even resting 💪"

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Paulo Costa has not gfg the octagon since his unanimous decision victory over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278.

The bout followed back-to-back losses to Israel Adesanya, in a 46-16 career record and an 18-8 record in two years with the Volunteers title bout, and Marvin Vettori. These were the first two losses of Borrachinha's career.

The No.7-ranked middleweight appeared set to face Robert Whittaker at UFC 284 in7 February as the UFC announced the bout. Costa disputed the announcement, claiming that he has not signed the fight contract and was looking to re-negotiate his pay structure with the promotion or leave altogether. While he eventually received a new contract, the matchup with 'The Reaper' never transpired.

The former middleweight title challenger has engaged in social media back-and-forth's with several fighters, most notably Khamzat Chimaev. Instead, however, Costa will face unranked middleweight Ikram Aliskerov. While his inactivity may come as a surprise, 'Borrachinha' has fought just once a year in every year since 2017.