Paulo Costa hilariously trolls UFC, reminds Kamaru Usman of BMF title following latter's "plastic belts" tweet

Paulo Costa has taken a swipe at the UFC and reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Usman and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, have been relentlessly campaigning for a fight against boxing great Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

Usman has claimed that he’d face Alvarez in the boxing and MMA realms. Nevertheless, he believes that the Mexican wouldn’t dare cross over to MMA. Resultantly, Usman has been lobbying for a boxing match against Alvarez.

While Alvarez generally ignores most combat sports rivals’ trash talk, including Usman, he and Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza recently fired back at Usman.

Alvarez and Espinoza have suggested that Usman and other MMA fighters envy the lucrative pay that top-tier boxers receive. Meanwhile, Usman and Abdelaziz have indicated that the best boxers usually evade fights against one another and prefer fighting nobodies with “plastic belts.” Usman tweeted:

“Our fans know who the best is because “The best fight The best” not run & hide and fight nobody’s with those plastic belts & call themselves “super champion”. Keep quiet next time & if you need lessons on how to save that dying sport let me know I’ve got Dana on speed dial.”

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa has weighed in on this debate. Costa referenced the symbolic BMF (Baddest Motherf***er) title, which the UFC introduced for the much-awaited welterweight bout between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz.

Masvidal won the belt by beating Diaz via third-round technical knockout at UFC 244 in November 2019. UFC president Dana White later claimed that the BMF title matchup was simply a one-off occurrence. Costa tweeted an image of White holding up the BMF belt. Subtly jibing at the UFC and Usman, Costa posted the following statement in the tweet:

"Boxing and their plastic belts “ hahaha”."

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Leon Edwards cautions Kamaru Usman against boxing Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez

Presently, Alvarez is set to fight Dmitry Bivol for the WBA (Super) Light Heavyweight Title on May 7. In July, UFC welterweight champion Usman is expected to defend his belt against Leon Edwards. A potential Usman-Alvarez boxing matchup is unlikely to materialize anytime soon.

Speaking to ESPN MMA, Leon Edwards insinuated that Kamaru Usman overestimates his striking skills due to his recent success. Advising Usman to refrain from boxing Alvarez, Edwards said:

"He's [Kamaru Usman] getting some good knockouts now and he's feeling himself with his hands, so he's calling like Canelo. He'll get smoked, you know... If he goes boxing Canelo is going to spank him all day, vice versa."