\n<\/p>\n
Dana White has no sympathy for Paulo Costa as the enigmatic light heavyweight attempts to fight out his UFC contract and become a free agent.<\/p>\n
Costa has one bout left on his current deal and is eager to get it done. But he\u2019s also not willing to accept a five round fight because it doesn\u2019t pay more than a three round fight. That\u2019s led to a number of statements from Costa on X (formerly Twitter) accusing UFC matchmakers of being unfair.<\/p>\n
\u201cOk, I\u2019m making this public and clear,\u201d Costa wrote on Sunday. \u201cI have 1 fight left. On my contract The purse is set for 3 rounds, not 5. I\u2019m asking for the 3-round fight that was already agreed on contract . It can be anyone on the UFC LHW roaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Hunter has 3 options now: A) Give me that last 3-round fight (I\u2019ll take any opponent). B) Give me a 5-round fight at LHW against anyone in 6 weeks. I\u2019ll take it, BUT raise my purse accordingly. That\u2019s the minimum that\u2019s fair, right? C) Release me from my contract now. Simple and clean. I hope everyone understands.\u201d<\/p>\n
In truth, Hunter Campbell has a fourth option: continue offering Costa fights he turns down, which allows the UFC to toll his contract and extend it indefinitely. UFC CEO Dana White put this in terms much friendlier to his interests than that, but basically said the same thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the f\u2014k does that event mean? He\u2019s been offered fights and turned them down,\u201d White said following the latest Contender Series event. \u201cWe don\u2019t just say, \u2018F\u2014k Paulo Costa and you\u2019re not gonna get a fight. No, we\u2019re not gonna pay you. No, we\u2019re not gonna do this.\u2019 Guys get offered three fights a year, regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven guys that aren\u2019t fighting. Like, Tom Aspinall\u2019s eyes are messed up. He\u2019s getting offered fights. You think Paulo Costa isn\u2019t getting offered fights?\u201d<\/p>\n
That last part is telling: even Tom Aspinall is getting offered fights even though he\u2019s injured. That\u2019s not because the UFC is making sure everyone is offered a fair amount of fights per year. That\u2019s because every time a fighter turns down a fight, their contract gets extended by several months. The UFC used to offer Francis Ngannou fights on the dates when he was in Cameroon getting his visa renewed \u2014 fights they knew he couldn\u2019t accept but allowed them to extend his contract and leave him on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
Since that disastrous antitrust case payout, the UFC has gotten a lot better about not going into insane ratf\u2014k mode every time a fighter on their roster attempts to enter free agency. But when it comes to bigger names attempting to leave the organization, there can still be a lot of friction like you\u2019re seeing with Paulo Costa. If Paulo isn\u2019t willing to just take what he can get, he might be sitting idle on the UFC\u2019s roster for a long time.<\/p>\n