Jake Paul had his Twitter fingers flying during UFC 278 and among the insults hurled were two at co-main event winner Paulo Costa.
A YouTuber-turned-boxer who is frequently the target of callouts from MMA fighters (and vice versa), Paul expressed his disgust for what he considered to be a lack of talent in Costa’s unanimous decision win against Luke Rockhold.
'Glorified street fight'
Bruhhhh lol
Rockcock vs Paulo is embarrassing
This a glorified street fight
Both ez money. #UFC278
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) August 21, 2022
Paul, 25, called the three-round slugfest between Costa and Rockhold “embarrassing” and a “glorified street fight.” The two fighters were exhausted for much of the fight, particularly Rockhold, but gutted it out until the final bell. The bout earned “Fight of the Night” honors from the UFC, but seemingly not from Paul.
Pioneers?
Luke Rick hold and Paulo as pioneers?? Lol you must be drunk …
They did nothing for this sport. Tf are you saying?! Goodnight bro.
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) August 21, 2022
When veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani came to the defense of Costa and Rockhold in a long back-and-forth thread of tweets, Paul denied the notion the two UFC 278 co-main eventers were pioneers.
Paulo Costa responds
Paulo Costa responds to @jakepaul’s criticism of his fight and says to send the contract if he wants to throw hands 👀 #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/EUJ1i5z0Lk
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) August 21, 2022
Costa was asked about Paul’s comments at a post-fight news conference at Vivint Arena. At the time, Costa was unaware of them but gave his fresh reaction to Paul’s disses.
Unsure of his UFC contract status, Costa revealed it’s possible free agency is impending. If that’s the case, Costa welcomed a contract offer from Paul with open arms.
“If this is the last one, Jake Paul is very welcome to send an offer or a contract and we can do this boxing fight,” Costa told reporters including MMA Junkie. “I don’t know if he wants this blood, you know? I think he wants to fight wrestlers or something like that, I think.”
Paul has not competed since December when he knocked out former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, though he was expected to compete against Hasim Rahman Jr. in August prior to a cancellation.
Meanwhile, Costa snapped a two-fight losing skid with his win Saturday. He is now 1-1 since his lone UFC title challenge to date, a TKO defeat to Israel Adesanya.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 278.
