Paulo Costa demands $100,000 from Josh Hokit in leaked messages

A text message exchange between UFC middleweight Paulo Costa and fighter Josh Hokit went public this week after Hokit posted screenshots of the conversation on social media, revealing Costa demanding a six-figure sum from him.

In the leaked messages, Costa, who competes under the nickname "The Eraser," wrote "100k and we're even. Return my money" — a blunt demand whose underlying context was not made clear by the exchange itself. Hokit responded with jokes about pizza rather than addressing the financial claim directly, and captioned his post by calling Costa a "stupid Brazilian." The back-and-forth drew attention online, though neither fighter has publicly clarified what the money dispute is actually about.

Costa, 35, is a Brazilian orthodox striker ranked 13th in the UFC middleweight division with a professional record of 16 wins and 4 losses. Fighting out of Team Borracha, he stands six-foot-one with a 72-inch reach and is one of the division's most prolific volume strikers, averaging 6.26 significant strikes landed per minute at a 58 percent striking accuracy rate.

Hokit, known as "The Incredible Hok," is 28 years old and carries an undefeated professional record of 5 and 0. His career statistics on file are limited at this stage of his development.

Why it matters

• The leaked messages suggest a personal financial dispute between the two fighters, the origins of which remain unexplained publicly.
• Costa sits at number 13 in the middleweight rankings, meaning any reputational friction off the canvas could factor into future matchmaking conversations.
• The public nature of the exchange — including Hokit's inflammatory caption — suggests tensions between the two are unlikely to cool quietly.