Paulo Costa has come a long way. From fighting for free at a local Brazilian promotion to becoming one of the biggest stars in the world’s biggest MMA promotion, UFC middleweight, ‘Borrachinha’ has had a remarkable journey in the world of mixed martial arts. After losing to Israel Adesanya in his first title shot back in 2020, the Brazilian is set to face former champion Sean Strickland at UFC 302 on June 1.

Ahead of this highly anticipated matchup, let’s delve into Paulo Costa’s background and his long and rocky relationship with the English language.

What is Paulo Costa’s native language?

Paulo Costa’s father, Carlos Roberto, was an odd-job man. The Costas were not very wealthy and things got worse after Carlos passed away because of throat cancer when Costa was 17. Because of this, his mother, Maria Augusta, had to start working. And this compelled Costa, born in 1991 in the city of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, to take up multiple jobs well.

A native Portuguese speaker like many of his fellow compatriots, ‘Borrachinha’ had to make a choice: keep working and support his family, or dedicate himself to his martial arts and take the risks that come with it. While he ultimately decided to become a professional MMA fighter, his martial arts journey started when he was just eight years old, after his older brother, Carlos Costa, introduced him to Muay Thai.

As a teenager, however, he moved away from martial arts after discovering another sport, which he took to immediately: bodybuilding (which is the reason for his chiseled and Adonis-like physique). At sixteen, however, his older brother, who had earned a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by that time, lured him back to combat sports. Costa, following his brother’s example, started training BJJ, dedicating himself to the martial arts, and going on to earn a black belt (although he rarely uses it in MMA, preferring to do all of his work on the feet).

Unlike his earlier foray into martial arts, Costa would stick around this time, falling in love with fighting and ultimately deciding to become a mixed martial artist.

Does ‘The Eraser’ speak English?

When Paulo Costa joined the UFC more than half a decade ago in 2017, he sparsely spoke any English. Before his failed stint on the third season of the UFC’s flagship reality TV show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’s Brazil edition, ‘Borrachina’ had lived and fought in his native Brazil, and thus did not need to speak any language other than Portuguese. This changed drastically, however, after he joined the US-based UFC, most of whose audience is English-speaking.

Costa made a mark in the UFC as soon as he joined the promotion, with his first four UFC fights (all of which he won via knockout in the first or second round) being a testament to his dangerous stand-up game. Predictably, this run of form went down well with not only the fans but also the UFC. By the time he won his fifth UFC fight, a unanimous decision over Yoel Romero at UFC 241, he was already being talked about as a possible title contender.

The UFC, recognizing his star potential and abilities as a fighter, combined with his exciting striking-first fighting style, gave him a shot at the middleweight crown against Israel Adesanya in 2020. By this time, the writing was on the wall. ‘Borrachinha’ was emerging as a star in the world’s biggest, most popular MMA promotion, and had decided to work on his English to maximize his star potential.

Because of this, by the time he fought Israel Adesanya at UFC 253, Costa was already well on his way to becoming fluent in English. In his post-fight interview with ESPN, the Brazilian, joined by his manager Eric Albarracin, surprised interviewer Brett Okamoto by telling him that he would be answering all of Okamoto’s questions, with a little help from the manager, who helped him with some of the more difficult words.

In the interview, the impressive strides Costa had taken in picking up the second language were evident and officially marked Costa as someone who could understand and speak English enough to at least hold a conversation.

Paulo Costa shows off his English skills

By the time May 2020 rolled around, the Brazilian was feeling pretty confident in his English abilities. So confident was he that he would take unprovoked shots at fellow UFC stars Charles Oliveira, Jose Aldo, Anderson Silva, and Wanderlei Silva, claiming he would pit his English-speaking abilities against any one of them.

“Some jealous say my english is broken but it’s better than all these guys combined . Jose Aldo, Anderson Silva, Wanderlei and Nathan Diaz. For orther hand Charles don’t even speak Portuguese well. Do your own list below,” ‘Borrachinha’ wrote on his official X account.

Well, Paulo Costa has certainly come a long way since then and his English vocabulary has gotten even better, even if he speaks it in a distinct, clause-heavy style with a halting cadence. It is still an amazing achievement given how recently he started learning it and the fact that it’s a second language for him.