Paulo Costa returned to the win column at UFC 318 but is envisioning another opportunity to secure a big win before the year is out. On the heels of his victory over Roman Kopylov, the Brazilian combatant seemingly has a few options in front of him but if Costa gets his ideal bout booking, he'll next be testing skills with former titleholder Dricus du Plessis.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, the former UFC middleweight title challenger put DDP in his crosshairs on the heels of the latter losing his belt to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in Chicago earlier this month. When discussing why a clash with the South African mixed martial artist would be such a compelling next step, Costa said,
"Oh my God. Unpredictable. He's so unpredictable. Yeah, he's a tough guy. Tough guy to fight, to be honest. Very tough, you know. And Khamzat knew that. That's why he held him for so long."
Paulo Costa wants Dricus du Plessis fight over Israel Adesanya rematch
Paulo Costa is more keen to clash with Dricus du Plessis and test himself in that fight than he is to rematch one of his longer standing rivals in the promotion,
With Costa proclaiming that he feels like he's the man to beat newly minted UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, beating the last man to hold the title would certainly pay dividends for the number thirteen ranked middleweight contender's goal of securing another title shot someday.