"People think I was greeting" - Paulo Costa once explained why he greeted every UFC ring girl during weigh-ins

UFC middleweight Paulo Costa once had to explain why he shook the hands of every UFC ring girl when he stepped onto the scales for the ceremonial weigh-ins.

In August 2022, 'Borrachinha' faced Luke Rockhold at UFC 278. The pair went to war in an epic three-round contest that saw both men get bloodied and bruised by the end of the final bell. The Brazilian went on the win the fight via unanimous decision and their efforts were rewarded with a Fight of the Night bonus.

Before stepping into the octagon, however, Costa had made headlines for his actions ahead of the fight. During the ceremonial weigh-ins, before stepping onto the scales, he took the time to shake hands with every UFC ring girl on stage.

Months later, Costa would post the clip of himself at the weigh-ins and make a dig at Islam Makhachev. He tweeted:

"Islam wound never 🙏keep focused in the fight bro👨‍🦯 لله يوفقك"

After sharing the clip, Costa was then bombarded by fans with comments asking why he shook their hands. In typical Costa style, he responded and gave his hilarious reason for doing so. The 32-year-old explained:

"People think I was greeting. I was just shaking [their hands] for the boobs to bounce."

Check out Paulo Costa's tweet here:

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Robert Whittaker predicts KO win over Paulo Costa at UFC 298

Paulo Costa is set to make his first return to action since Aug. 2022 when he faces Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 this weekend. 'Borrachinha' heads into the fight coming off the back of his win over Luke Rockhold, whereas Whittaker is looking to bounce back from his surprising loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290.

'The Reaper's loss to 'DDP' was the first time he had been defeated by a middleweight not named Israel Adesanya, and he has since vowed to make it a statement win against the Brazilian.

Speaking in a recent interview with Fanatics View's James Lynch, Whittaker offered his prediction for his clash against Costa, where he asserted that he plans on getting his first octagon finish since 2017. He said:

"I'm gonna knock him out. I've got 15 minutes to find my hole, to find the weakness that I can exploit, and I'm going headhunting. I'm looking for it [knockout]."

Check out Whittaker's comments here (7:00):