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#3: Paulo Costa
Ever since Chris Weidman knocked Silva off his perch at the top of the Middleweight division in 2013, the UFC hasn’t really had a top Brazilian fighter at 185lbs. Sure, Jacare Souza has come close at times but he’s always fallen at the final hurdle in his biggest fights – losses to Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum have put an end to his title hopes and he’s now 38 years old.
That means that Brazilian hopes at Middleweight now fall on the broad shoulders of one man – Paulo ‘The Eraser’ Costa. The TUF Brazil veteran has been absolutely unstoppable since debuting in the UFC proper in early 2017, tearing through four opponents – including former UFC champ Johny Hendricks – and finishing them all by KO or TKO.
That’s why the UFC could look to book Silva – the returning, ageing gunslinger – against the up-and-comer for his return fight. Sure, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense from Silva’s perspective but the UFC has always used ageing fighters to build their newer stars – witness Royce Gracie vs. Matt Hughes or Yair Rodriguez vs. BJ Penn, for instance. And if Costa were to win – which would be expected – the torch would clearly be passed from one great Brazilian Middleweight to a potential great of the future.
