What Is UFC Middleweight Paulo Costa’s Fighting Style?

#7 ranked Paulo Costa will face former middleweight champion Sean Strickland at UFC 302 on June 1 in Newark, New Jersey. The Brazilian, one of the more popular fighters in the promotion, has become a fan favorite owing to his unconventional sense of humor and entertaining shenanigans. He is coming off of a valiant loss to another former champion, Robert Whittaker earlier this year.

Although the 33-year-old has lost three of his last four fights, all of them have been against the highest level of competition. And if he can win his next fight against Strickland, Costa will most probably find himself in the title picture, which is in no small part due to his exciting fighting style and warrior mentality.

What martial arts does Paulo Costa do?

Growing up in the Brazilian city of Contagem in the Minas Gerais state, Costa’s interest in martial arts began after he started getting bullied as a child. This would prompt ‘Borrachinha’ to start learning Muay Thai at the age of nine as a way to protect himself against bullies.

While Costa is a skilled striker, and one of the more dynamic fighters on his feet, many will be surprised to learn that ‘Borrachinha’ is just as adept on the ground. His early Muay Thai influences are explicit in his fighting style, but the main martial art used by the Brazilian is his gutsy, toe-to-toe style of boxing.

His fearless, striking first approach is what makes him such an exciting fighter to watch, and has led to some very intriguing fights throughout his career. But, what is totally absent from his game is any BJJ, despite his accomplishments in it.

Is the UFC middleweight a black belt in BJJ?

Like a lot of other Brazilian kids, Paulo Costa also took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a teenager, along with his brother, until his father died of throat cancer when Costa was 17. This trauma caused ‘Borrachinha’ to give up the grappling martial art for a brief period.

However, after a brief hiatus, he resumed his training in BJJ. His brother, a purple belt in the grappling martial arts at the time, would be instrumental in getting him back to martial arts and has been at his side ever since. And Costa has never looked back ever since and went on to earn a black belt in BJJ.

Breaking down the Brazilian UFC star’s strengths and weaknesses

Paulo Costa is incredibly strong. A veritable physical specimen, Costa is in competition with Leon Edwards as having the most aesthetic physique in the promotion. The Brazilian uses his strength and size to scrap with his opponents, always willing to get into a good, old-fashioned brawl. At his best, he uses his physicality to impose on opponents, backing them up and hitting them with punches in bunches, and is not shy to target their bodies. In addition, his Muay Thai background is visible in his accurate and powerful leg kicks.

Over time, ‘Borrachinha’ has modified his square-on stance to a more side-on-one with his weight distributed more on his back leg. This has made him harder to hit than his earlier stance and allows him to sit on his back leg and counter his opponents.

While the Brazilian does have a black belt in BJJ, ‘Borrachinha’ simply does not use his grappling at all. The main drawback of Costa’s style of fighting is the amount of punishment he takes. Because of his willingness to stand and bang, Costa tends to absorb a significant amount of strikes, especially against skilled counter-strikers.

This is why Paulo Costa is one of the most exciting fighters in the promotion to watch. With his fearless, action-packed, kill-or-be-killed style of fighting, Costa gives his all every time he enters the ring. And that is all one could ask of a fighter.