"You fight Jake Paul and make the biggest payday, then what?" - Former UFC fighter casts doubt over Paulo Costa's future

Former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub has questioned the future of Paulo Costa after the Brazilian admitted he's interested in boxing Jake Paul.

'Borrachinha' and Luke Rockhold stepped into the octagon last weekend for UFC 278's co-main event. The pair then went to war in what was one of the wildest MMA bouts in recent memory.

Both men traded bombs throughout the fight and while it may have lacked a clinical performance from either fighter, it was certainly entertaining. Costa won via unanimous decision, and Rockhold called it a day on his illustrious MMA career.

During UFC 278's broadcast, Jake Paul criticized the performances of both Costa and Rockhold. He labeled the fight as "embarrassing" and believes a victory over either fighter would be easy.

Costa responded to Paul on Twitter:

Speaking about Paulo Costa's future on his YouTube channel, 'Big Brown' was skeptical about Costa's MMA future and his desire to box 'The Problem Child':

"If the goal is to make as much money as possible and get as famous as possible, you fight Jake Paul... Let's just talk through it. Where do you go after you fight Jake Paul? A professional boxer? You're 31, that's not realistic..."

He added:

"I think if you're Paulo Costa, you look in the mirror and think, 'Can I become champ?' I would say no. You have already lost to Izzy [Israel Adesanya] and [Marvin Vettori]. I just don't know what he wants to do."

Catch Brendan Schaub's full video on his YouTube channel here:

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Paulo Costa reveals he made a mistake thinking his UFC contract was up

Prior to his UFC 278 co-main event, many fans, and Costa himself, thought it would be the last time he made the walk to the UFC octagon. This is unless he agrees to sign a new contract.

In a recent appearance on the The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, however, the 31-year-old revealed he made a mistake and has one fight remaining. The Brazilian is open to signing a new deal with the UFC despite an interest in boxing Jake Paul but reiterated his desire to be paid more.

Speaking about his contract situation, Costa shared that he only earned $35,000 for his fight against Marvin Vettori, and only a little more to face Luke Rockhold:

"Yes. I'm looking forward to being free agent for sure ... I'm at the high high level, fighting the best in this division and my contract is so old. Too old. And when I fought Marvin Vettori, I got $35,000."

He added:

"For this one [at UFC 278], is a couple more, I got the win bonus and because when I fought Marvin Vettori, I got 20% deduction [for missing weight] ... I need to talk, to see with [UFC], and see. I'm not rushing up to sign, but we need to see. We need to figure out. I'm not happy with the current contract, of course."

Catch Paulo Costa's full interview on The MMA Hour here: