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UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa is seemingly working on improving his wrestling. Costa, known for his gritty and striking-heavy fighting style, has rarely relied on his grappling skills so far. However, he seems to be adding new facets to his game in collaboration with Justin Gaethje and his team.
Recently, Costa posted a video of himself after a wrestling training session at Trevor Wittman's Gym in Denver, Colorado. The camp has been home to several elite fighters such as Gaethje, Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas, and Shane Carwin, among others.
In the caption to his post, Costa wrote:
"Nice wrestling session at Onnix - Colorado . Thanks Coachs Trevor, Justin Gatjhe and all Team."
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Check out Paulo Costa's post below:
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Although Costa teamed up with Gaethje and his coach for wrestling training, the gym is primarily known for striking. Most notably, Coach Wittman has been credited for significant improvements in Usman's striking.
'The Nigerian Nightmare,' who rose to champion status with his wrestling-heavy game, was able to outwork credentialed strikers like Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns after transitioning to Trevor Wittman's camp.
Costa, who has trained under Eric Albarracin for a long time, is primarily recognized for his striking skills. Although he possesses a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, the 33-year-old has only one professional MMA win by submission.
Costa's wrestling and grappling skills inside the octagon remain untested as he has primarily faced strikers in his UFC career so far. While he was scheduled to face wrestling powerhouse Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, Costa was forced to pull out due to a health concern and was replaced by Kamaru Usman.
In recent years, Costa has hit a rough patch in his professional MMA career. Although he is a top 15 ranked UFC middleweight, the Brazilian has gone 1-4 in his last five fights. The only win during this period came against former champion Luke Rockhold in a bizarre fight at UFC 278.
