Paulo Costa feels closer to title shot at 205 than 185 after UFC 327

MIAMI – Paulo Costa has spent his whole career fighting at middleweight. Yet, despite all the history in the division, the Brazilian fighter thinks he's much closer to a UFC belt fighting at light heavyweight.

Costa (16-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC), a former UFC middleweight title challenger, moved up a weight class for a showdown against the undefeated contender Azamat Murzakanov in the co-main event of Saturday's UFC 327. Costa entered the fight as an underdog, and few gave him a chance to win, seeing the matchup as a setup for the Russian. But all that came crashing down with Costa delivering a third-round TKO finish.

"I feel good," Costa told reporters at the UFC 327 post-fight press conference. "I feel great, but I don't put a lot of attention (on the finish) because my training didn't change. The fight before this against Kopylov, man, I was knocking him out. I connected with a straight right on the chin, and he fell down. There were small details to change for me to get the knockout in the very first round."

Costa is now on a two-fight winning streak with one victory in both middleweight and light heavyweight. Despite just being 1-1 at 205 pounds in the UFC, Costa did make some big strides in the division, given Murzakanov's ranking.

"I think so. I think so," Costa said when asked if he felt closer to a title shot at light heavyweight than middleweight. "I think I'm new blood in the division, and I think this is good. I got very good feedback at the press conference. I think people are excited to see."

Costa has no preference on which belt he'd rather chase. It all comes down to which one is more attainable, at least in regard to the UFC granting him a championship opportunity.

"That's going to depend on how things end up setting up," Costa said. "If they think I'm closer to 205 to fight for the title next, OK, so I stay."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Paulo Costa feels closer to title shot at 205 than 185 after UFC 327