Paulo Costa gets honest about rocky relationship with Dana White while recalling "very unfair pay" problem: "I was a little bit sad and mad"

Paulo Costa had his differences with Dana White regarding the pay structure. However, Costa recently indicated that his relationship with White is much better now.

Costa will be hoping to get back on the winning side when he faces Roman Kopylov in the co-main event of UFC 318 this Saturday at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Ahead of his return, Costa made an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show and discussed his equation with White. The former middleweight title challenger voiced his displeasure with the MMA organization's CEO over the contract situation during his early UFC days. The Brazilian mentioned that he was dissatisfied with his salary.

''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."

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Check out Paulo Costa's comments below:

Costa’s five-fight undefeated run in the octagon earned him a shot against then-champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 in 2020. The 34-year-old lost in the second round via knockout, and things haven’t been the same since. Costa’s unsuccessful title bid was followed by losses to Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker, and Sean Strickland. Notably, in the last five years, ‘The Eraser’s’ only victory was against former champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 278.

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Paulo Costa previews the Roman Kopylov fight at UFC 318

In the aforementioned conversation with Ariel Helwani, Paulo Costa offered his thoughts on the upcoming clash with No. 14-ranked Roman Kopylov at UFC 318.

Costa promised to put on a strong display and predicted his win, citing an early finish:

This is a very important [fight] for me. This is a great matchup. [Kopylov] is a striker and he’s southpaw. I know how to fight against southpaws. I know he’s dangerous. He has good kicks and a good straight left hand, but I’m very prepared for that...'This fight is going to be short, not 15 minutes, no way. Maybe two rounds, maybe in the first round. I think this is going to be a good collision, two guys looking for a finish. I will be there to finish this fight since the very first minute.”

Check out Paulo Costa's comments below:

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Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena