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Fighters like Paulo Costa have achieved a significant amount of acclaim from the modern MMA community for their athletic prowess inside the octagon.
The same, however, cannot be said for some of the opinions he holds. On more than one occasion, Paulo Costa has taken to social media to share some hilarious and somewhat disconcerting posts with his fans.
Costa is slated to butt heads with fellow former UFC middleweight title challenger Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 41 this weekend. His main event clash against the Italian will mark his third attempt at entering the octagon in 2021.
Paulo Costa was scheduled to fight Robert Whittaker back in April. However, he was forced to bail out of his fight against 'The Reaper' citing medical reasons. It was revealed that he was suffering from a severe case of the flu.
He was subsequently scheduled to face Jared Cannonier in August, marking his second attempt at setting up a fight in 2021. However, he withdrew following a dispute with the UFC regarding pay. In addition to those issues, Paulo Costa took to social media to throw some shade at the promotion for announcing the fight before he had signed a contract.
His tendency to back out of fights has caught the attention of his upcoming opponent. Marvin Vettori recently took to social media to take shots at the Brazilian.
In this article, we look at a few instances when Paulo Costa amused fans with his quirky posts on social media, explaining his beliefs and actions.
#5. Paulo Costa claims his sober self is still undefeated
The main event at UFC 253 last September saw Paulo Costa compete for the UFC middleweight title against Israel Adesanya. However, the fight didn't turn out the way he would have liked it to.
'The Last Stylebender' managed to put one over Costa with a second-round TKO. However, the Brazilian's explanation for his lackluster performance was what attracted more attention than the display itself.
In the aftermath of the fight, Paulo Costa infamously claimed that he had indulged in a significant amount of alcohol before the fight. The excessive drinking apparently hampered his ability to fight.
Costa went into the fight undefeated and emerged with a loss on his otherwise spotless record. After the bout, Costa took to Twitter to share the following tweet, claiming that he was still undefeated but with a catch.
"Sober Costa is still undefeated"
#4. Paulo Costa shares the 'Runnersanya' video
The dispute between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa is perhaps the most high-profile feud of his career. Paulo Costa was a feared and unbeaten fighter in the days leading up to the UFC 253 main event. However, the same could not be said in the aftermath of their fight.
In the buildup to the fight, both Paulo Costa and Israel Adesanya went back and forth, taking shots and flaming each other. 'Borrachinha' began calling Adesanya a "runner" after the Nigerian's fight against Yoel Romero.
Costa produced and posted a parody video of himself fighting Adesanya. The video displayed Adesanya incessantly running from the fight, eventually getting knocked out and losing his title to Paulo Costa.
Watch the video below:
#3. Paulo Costa revealed 'the secret' behind his jacked physique
Fans and MMA pundits have often wondered how Paulo Costa has maintained his physique without moving up weight classes. In a hilarious post on social media, Costa offered fans some insight into the secret behind his exceptional physical appearance.
"Do you want to know what I have here in my secret juice - Costa's secret juice? Hm... It makes you strong and jacked! Look, it's red target, you know? It is not [for] everybody. This is a secret juice. Very powerful!" said Paulo Costa in the video.
In the buildup to his fight against Marvin Vettori, Paulo Costa revealed that he would not be able to cut his weight down to the middleweight limit. He has therefore asked for the fight to take place at catchweight.
Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa have since verbally agreed to fight at 195lbs. The fighters appeared for an interview together on Zoom, where they ironed out the details for the fight. The situation is currently developing; however, the fighters seem to have taken the first step towards making a fight at catchweight.
#2. Paulo Costa talks about the Mars lander
In a post on Twitter, 'Astronomer Paulo Costa' claimed that the Mars lander was staged in a studio right here on Earth. Costa went on to share a rendition of what the lander would broadcast back home.
"If mars hasn’t more than 1 sun they had a photo crew w lights and all equipment to create that shadow on opposite angle. Some people saying it was made here on earth in some studio, but i don’t know," wrote Paulo Costa on Twitter.
This post on Twitter prompted several responses from fans. Costa, unaffected by the fans' disdain, responded to their comments with explanations of his own.
In response to Paulo Costa's claims about Mars having two suns, a fan opined that the star visible in the picture may have been a moon. However, Costa was not one to take that opinion lightly and snapped right back at the fans.
#1. Paulo Costa jumps on the 'Flat-Earth' bandwagon
Paulo Costa is seemingly an ardent believer in the infamous theory that surmises the earth is flat as opposed to the popularly believed notion that it is spherical. Costa has frequently posted about the same on his social media handles.
The 'Ice-Wall theory' is yet another popular notion that is believed by the flat-earth society. The theory suggests that the flat plane of the heart is surrounded by a wall of ice, rubbishing the notion of two opposing polar regions on the globe. The wall serves the purpose of preventing the water of the oceans from falling off the edge of the Earth into the deep chasm of space.
Paulo Costa's belief in the 'Flat-Earth' theory seems to stem from his cultural roots. A whopping 7% of the population of Brazil appears to believe that the Earth is flat.
