Paulo Costa has been sounding off about getting left on the sidelines, but Dana White isn't having it. and both report that White addressed Costa's frustration directly, and his answer wasn't sympathetic. According to, White said Costa has actually turned fights down, pushing back hard on the idea that the UFC isn't offering him work. That's a notable claim given where Costa sits right now. His most recent outing came on April 11, 2026, when he stopped Azamat Murzakanov with a kick in the third round at the 1:23 mark, a finish that boosted his standing in a stacked 205 pound weight class. Costa's numbers back up why the UFC would want him active. Our Elo model has him at 1592 across four bouts, the kind of profile that suggests a fighter still building momentum in a new weight class rather than one who should be sitting idle. That makes the back and forth over missed opportunities more than just noise. If White's version is accurate and Costa really has passed on offers, it changes the conversation from "the UFC is ducking him" to "Costa is the one picking his spots." Either way, the dispute puts a spotlight on Costa's next move. A fighter with a finish as impressive as the one over Murzakanov shouldn't have trouble finding dance partners, so the real story now is which fights he's actually said no to and why. Until Costa responds publicly to White's version, fans are left with two very different accounts of the same stalled timeline.