Paulo Costa’s Ethnicity and Parents: All We Know About the UFC Star’s Background

Paulo Costa is gearing up for the clash ͏of his life as ͏he is about to face ͏the former middleweight c͏hampio͏n͏ Sean Strickland͏. Borr͏achinha’s ͏last match was ͏against R͏obert Whit͏taker, wherein he suffered a lo͏s͏s ͏by͏͏ way of a unanimous decision͏. Similarly,͏ ͏Strickland’s last fight also ended in a decision loss, and he had to relinquish his UFC ͏title to Dricus Du Ple͏ssis. Both ranked middleweights will fight for a ͏spot in the title race at UFC 302.

While much is known about Costa’s career, his personal life has been hidden away from the MMA world. Ahead of his clash against ‘Tarzan’, let us take a closer look at his personal life.

Where was Paulo Costa born? Where are his parents from?

Paulo Costa might be living his best life now but it was not always the case for the Brazilian sensation. ‘Borr͏achinha’ was born in poverty to Carlos Roberto and Maria Augusta in 1991. His father used to do odd jobs to sustain his family. Costa grew up playing football and learning Muay Thai. The Brazilian sensation started training in muay Thai and jiu-jitsu at a very early age when he was 9.

A lesser-known facet about Costa is that he wasn’t always involved in fighting. There was a time when ‘Borr͏achinha’ had to work multiple jobs to support his family. When he turned 17, Costa’s father lost his life to throat cancer, which became a turning point for Paulo Costa. He took up various jobs such as a realtor, Microsoft Excel and, Microsoft Office teacher, and more. So if he was invested in doing such jobs, why did he start MMA again? Let’s find out.

How did ‘Borrachinha’ start fighting?

As mentioned earlier, Paulo Costa was engaged in Muay Thai and fighting from a very early age. After a few years of training, he started doing jiu-jitsu. His prime motivation for having a career in MMA started when he watched his brother go into MMA. However, after the demise of his father, Costa stopped everything and started doing odd jobs. So how did he end up in the UFC?

Well, Costa’s ambition was different and his family knew that it would be a waste of talent if they stopped Paulo Costa from competing. His brother and mother took the responsibility to keep Paulo Costa engaged in fighting by working tedious jobs. A few years later, Costa started training in BJJ and MMA again. Fast forward to 2024, Costa is one of the most important fighters in the UFC.

Paulo Costa will be facing Sean Strickland for an eventual shot at UFC gold. ‘Borr͏achinha’ is one single fight losing streak. Will he be able to turn his fortune around? State your thoughts in the comments below.