UFC star 'asks for his release' in order to join Jake Paul's MMA revolution
UFC star Paulo Costa has threatened to enrage Dana White by asking for his release from the company in a social media post.
Costa's last bout came in April when he defeated Azamat Murzakanov via TKO at UFC 327 in Miami in his return to light heavyweight.
However, the Brazilian has been speaking about his future in combat sports and claims to have three options on the table going forward.
Costa listed his options in a social media post, stating that his very first possibility would be to rematch Sean Strickland for the middleweight championship that he regained with a win over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 in Newark, New Jersey.
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He then expressed interest in going up another division and competing at heavyweight, with eyes on a fight with Josh Hokit after his rise to prominence.
But as he wrote, Costa's favoured option is to ask UFC to "release me" from his fight contract so that he can face Mike Perry with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions after their successful MMA debut show.
On X, Costa wrote: "I have 3 options right now at ufc : 1. Fight for 185 belt - Strickland rematch 2 .fight at heavyweight weight Hokit 3 . Ask for ufc release me of my last fight contract and go face Mike 'The Platinum' Perry at Netflix ."
Costa teases switch to Jake Paul's promotion
Perry beat Nate Diaz in a battle of former UFC fighters in MVP's first MMA card, headlined by Ronda Rousey's 15-second retirement fight victory over Gina Carano.
The show at the Intuit Dome was streamed live on Netflix and also saw former UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou back in MMA action.
Netflix's viewership for the card peaked at 17 million, with the gate standing at £1.64 million ($2.2 million) and potentially being the first of many.
Costa appears interested in making the jump and said taking on Perry is his "favorite match right now". He also replied to 'Platinum' and praised his performance, "You did great Saturday night Mike . We’re proud of you! Enjoy it !!"
In another post teasing a change, Costa wrote: "From welterweight to heavyweight, from UFC to Netflix . Nobody is safe."
Paul has been a constant thorn in the side of White, with the 29-year-old said to have been banned from all TKO events.
But Costa is a fan of Paul and the business he is doing. Replying to Paul's post about the impressive numbers from MVP's first MMA event, he wrote: "Great job" and later added, "I’m excited to see the official fighters payout".
Josh Lawless