Paulo Costa reportedly pulls out of UFC 326 fight against Brunno Ferreira

Paulo Costa reportedly withdrew from his fight against Brunno Ferreira at UFC 326 in March, just days after their fight was announced. It appears the promotion will be looking for a replacement opponent for Ferreira.

Although it is unclear why Costa was forced to withdraw from the fight, MMA Fighting confirmed the development after an initial report from veteran journalist Leo Guimaraes.

Costa last faced Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 in July and ended a two-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision victory. Before that, he lost to Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC 302 in June 2024 and to Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision at UFC 298 in February 2024.

Meanwhile, Ferreira defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision at UFC 323 earlier this month. Before that, the 33-year-old Brazilian defeated Jackson McVey via first-round submission at UFC 318 in July.

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Brunno Ferreira addresses ‘soft a** Paulo Costa who withdraws from his UFC 326 fight’.

Brunno Ferreira recently spoke Paulo Costa pulled out of their scheduled fight at UFC 326 and took a shot at his compatriot. Ferreira also called Roman Dolidze and urged the Georgian-born fighter to step in as a replacement.

In an Instagram postFerreira confirmed “weak rubber” Costa was out of action and called on Dolidze to accept his challenge. The 33-year-old Brazilian also took a shot at “soft a**” Costa and wrote in the caption:

“Unfortunately the weak rubber left the fight. But that’s nothing new, he’s a soft asshole. With all due respect, @romandolidze, I have nothing against you, but let’s give a beating show to the fans at UFC 326 because I know you’re not a soft asshole like ‘Borrachinha’.”

Dolidze had his three-fight winning streak snapped after losing to Anthony Hernandez via fourth-round submission at UFC Vegas 109 in August. Before that, he dominated Marvin Vettori over five rounds at UFC Vegas 104 in March.