Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa will not be making his 2026 debut after all.
Just days after his bout was announced, Costa pulled out of his scheduled
fight at UFC 326, reigniting long-running frustration among fans who feel the Brazilian spends more time withdrawing from matchups than actually competing.
That frustration wasn’t limited to fans criticizing him. Former Welterweight title challenger Darren Till — once one of Costa’s most vocal defenders — went fully scorched earth, unloading on “Borrachinha” with a brutal rant on social media.
“This guy is just a big jumped up joke of a juice head. Has no respect for the sport,” Till wrote on Twitter. “Just quit Costa and keep doing ur secret juice gig cos it’s the only thing that works for u. Ur an absolute mongoloide. Ur a bum. Ur a whore. Quit please quit my brother. You are so so f—king s—t. I think you may be the worst fighter to ever fight in the ufc ever. And ur title challenge was worse than mine and that’s saying something.”
The outburst was especially notable given Till’s history with Costa. Just five years ago, Till publicly defended the Brazilian after his lopsided loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253, but has since floated the idea of boxing Costa outside the Octagon.
Costa, however, has done little to quiet the noise. He fought just once in 2025, earning a clear unanimous decision win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 to snap a two-fight skid.
Still, with repeated pullouts and long stretches of inactivity, Costa’s once-promising Middleweight title trajectory continues to fade — and patience, even from former allies, appears to be officially gone.
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