Paulo Costa aims to "bring back the Paulo of the old days" for Roman Kopylov challenge at UFC 318

Paulo Costa is prepared to make a strong statement when he faces Roman Kopylov in a middleweight bout in the co-main event of UFC 318. The pay-per-view card takes place this Saturday at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Costa, who was once regarded as a force of nature in the 185-pound division, is 1-4 in his last five octagon outings. As a result, many in the MMA community were disappointed with the dip in Costa's form. However, during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the Brazilian promised to put on a strong display.

The 34-year-old said:

''I just feel like I needed a refresh. I needed to see new things and be connected with my old style, that style to chase [opponents], to be more aggressive, to bring back the Paulo of the old days… very aggressive. You know, the fans and people around me always asked me to come back with this kind of style of fighting. So, yeah, I was looking for that [in my training], and this is who I am.''

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In his last octagon appearance at UFC 302, Costa displayed a lackluster performance and lost to former champion Sean Strickland via split decision. He was supposed to return against Kopylov on the main card of UFC 317 last month. However, their bout was canceled after Costa fell ill.

Meanwhile, Kopylov is coming off back-to-back wins, the most recent being a third-round knockout victory over Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 101 earlier this year.

Paulo Costa talks about his relationship with Dana White

In the aforementioned conversation with Ariel Helwani, Paulo Costa stated that he was dissatisfied with Dana White during his early UFC career, citing the MMA organization's pay structure. However, their connection improved with time, and Costa now has no complaints against White.

He said:

''I support Dana White right now. Back in the days I wasn't supporting him. Back in the days we had some beef. I was a little bit sad and mad. My first 6 fights on the contract was horrible. I was getting very unfair pay. I talk very honestly and said, guys, come on, this is unfair. This is not fair because just because a bad decision in the past."

Check out Paulo Costa's comments below:

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Costa will look to break his two-fight losing skid when he faces No. 14-ranked middleweight contender Roman Kopylov at UFC 318.

About the author

Swagat is a dynamic MMA writer with a total experience of a little less than a year, which includes time in retail and sports journalism. He holds an MBA degree.

Swagat fell in love with the sport after watching the iconic grudge match between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in early 2015. Nate Diaz holds a special place in his heart for the Stockton native’s entertaining fan-friendly style and ability to deliver exciting fights regardless of the opponent.

In terms of rule changes in MMA, Swagat advocates for making scores public after each round, adding transparency to judging decisions.

Swagat prioritizes accuracy and relevance while writing and conducts thorough research to ensure the content is fresh and reliable.

He enjoys playing football and painting during his free time.

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Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena