Paulo Costa says he enjoys fighting Russian opponents

Paulo Costa has made no secret of his fondness for fighting Russian opponents, and the Brazilian middleweight doubled down on that sentiment ahead of his upcoming clash with Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 327 on April 11.

Costa, known as "The Eraser," carries a 16-4-0 record and is currently ranked thirteenth in the middleweight division. The 35-year-old from Brazil trains out of Team Borracha and fights out of an orthodox stance, standing six-foot-one with a 72-inch reach. His offensive output is among the most impressive in the division, as he lands 6.26 significant strikes per minute at a striking accuracy of 58 percent.

His most recent opponent, Roman Kopylov, is a 34-year-old Russian middleweight ranked fourteenth. Kopylov carries a 15-5-0 record and lands 4.59 significant strikes per minute, though Costa got the better of him in their meeting. Costa also noted that bouts against Khamzat Chimaev and Ikram Aliskerov were both discussed at various points but never came to fruition. Chimaev, the top-ranked middleweight and a pound-for-pound top-ten fighter at 15-1-0, would have represented the stiffest test of that group.

Now Costa shifts up to light heavyweight to face Murzakanov, another Russian opponent, keeping his apparent pattern intact.

Why it matters

• Costa is moving up a weight class for this fight, adding an extra layer of intrigue beyond the stylistic matchup
• A win over a light heavyweight could reshape how the UFC positions Costa going forward
• The unconfirmed bouts against Chimaev and Aliskerov hint at a middleweight landscape that has struggled to lock Costa into marquee fights
• Chimaev remains the division's top contender and a potential future matchup if both men stay active