Paulo Costa
8W · 4L
Orthodox
Light Heavyweight
Middleweight
63% finish rate100% as favorite25% as underdog
1503
ELO Rating
ELO RatingHow is ELO calculated?18-month recency decay · streak amplification · activity velocity · career-death penalty. Old champions can't hide behind past glory.Understanding our ELO →
1502.7Mid-tier→
Recency-weighted skill · finish-adjusted · streak-amplified
Division ELOHow is ELO calculated?18-month recency decay · streak amplification · activity velocity · career-death penalty. Old champions can't hide behind past glory.Understanding our ELO →
#45of 76 active
Age
35
Apr 21, 1991
Height
6'1" (185.42 cm)
Reach
182.88 cm
Win Rate
66.7%
Output & Defense
Rate-normalized career statistics (per 15 minutes, except strike rates which are per-minute)
Strikes landed / min
6.15
SLpM
Strikes absorbed / min
5.96
SApM (lower is better)
Net striking
+0.19
SLpM − SApM
Strike defense
49%
Opponent strikes evaded
Takedowns / 15 min
0.30
TD_Avg
Takedown defense
77%
Opponent TDs stuffed
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
Sub_Avg
High-volume strikerElite TD defense
Head-to-Head Comparison
Search for a fighter to compare side-by-side
Career Averages (per fight)
14.1
Sig. Strikes
0.2
Takedowns
0.0
Sub Attempts
How They Win
KO/TKO5 (63%)
Submission0 (0%)
Decision0 (0%)
Loss Vulnerability
KO/TKO1 (25%)
Submission0 (0%)
Decision0 (0%)
Betting Profile
Win rate when fighting as favorite vs underdog
As Favorite
100%
5W – 0L in 5 fights
As Underdog
25%
1W – 3L in 4 fights
ELO Trajectory
Skill rating evolution — hover dots for fight details
Elo Changes
Rating gained or lost in each fight
def. Roman Kopylov
+9.01503
lost to Sean Strickland
-4.01494
lost to Robert Whittaker
-3.21498
def. Luke Rockhold
+1.31501
lost to Marvin Vettori
-0.71500
lost to Israel Adesanya
-0.41500
def. Yoel Romero
+0.31501
def. Uriah Hall
+0.21500
def. Johny Hendricks
+0.11500
def. Oluwale Bamgbose
+0.11500
def. Garreth McLellan
+0.11500
Division ELO Rankings
Middleweight · Active fighters ranked by recency-weighted skill
Fight History (12 fights)
UFC 327: Prochazka vs. Ulberg · Apr 11, 2026
UFC 318: Holloway vs. Poirier 3 · Jul 19, 2025
UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier · Jun 1, 2024
Loss
View Analysis →UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria · Feb 17, 2024
Loss
View Analysis →UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards · Aug 20, 2022
UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori · Oct 23, 2021
Loss
View Analysis →UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa · Sep 26, 2020
Loss
View Analysis →vs Yoel Romero
UFC 241: Cormier vs. Miocic 2 · Aug 17, 2019
vs Uriah Hall
UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier · Jul 7, 2018
UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre · Nov 4, 2017
UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway · Jun 3, 2017
UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Gastelum · Mar 11, 2017