Costa, the son of odd-jobber Carlos Roberto and Maria Augusta, was born in 1991. He has an older brother, Carlos Costa, who is a former mixed martial artist and one of Paulo's coaches. Paulo grew up in Contagem playing soccer and eventually picking up Muay Thai at the age of nine in order to learn discipline and avoid street fights he was constantly getting into. As a teenager, Paulo joined a jiu-jitsu gym with his brother only to quit the sport after their father died of throat cancer when Paulo was 17. A couple of years later, Costa returned to jiu-jitsu and started competing under the tutelage of his brother who was already a purple belt at the time. In order to help his mother with bills, Costa worked in real estate and as an IT teacher teaching Microsoft Word and Excel.
Costa made his professional MMA debut in his native country of Brazil in February 2012. Eventually his brother convinced their mother to support Paulo monetarily for a year in order to pursue his professional martial arts career. Over the next five years, he amassed a record of 8–0 with 7 knockouts and 1 submission.
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil
Costa was chosen to be a fighter on . In the opening elimination round, he defeated José Roberto via submission in the second round. Costa was the second middleweight fighter chosen by coach Wanderlei Silva. His next fight was against Márcio Alexandre Jr., and Costa lost via split decision after three rounds.
Costa made his promotional debut on March 11, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 106 against Garreth McLellan. He won the fight via TKO in the first round, earning his first Performance of the Night award. Costa faced Oluwale Bamgbose on June 3, 2017, at UFC 212. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. After the fight with Bamgbose, UFC offered a new contract but the parties did not come to an agreement with the financial terms. The UFC then proposed a fight with former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks, with a promise to renegotiate after the bout. Costa faced Hendricks on November 4, 2017, at UFC 217. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. After the bout Costa signed a new, multi-fight contract. Costa was expected to face Uriah Hall on April 21, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 128. However, Costa pulled out of the fight in mid-March with an arm injury. In turn, promotion officials elected to pull Hall from that event entirely and reschedule the pairing for July 7, 2018, at UFC 226. Costa won the fight via technical knockout in round two. The win earned him his second Performance of the Night award. Costa was scheduled to face Yoel Romero on November 3, 2018, at UFC 230. However, Romero indicated in mid-August that, while he had been cleared to fight, his doctors had recommended that he wait another four to five months to allow facial injuries incurred during his most recent fight to fully heal. The bout was rescheduled again, and was expected to take place on April 27, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 3. Costa was removed from the card for an undisclosed reason. He was replaced by Ronaldo Souza. Romero then pulled out of the fight due to pneumonia, and Costa was scheduled to face Souza, but a United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation prevented Costa from participating, so neither Romero nor Costa competed in the event. It was revealed that Costa had been suspended for six months by USADA and Comissão Atlética Brasileira de MMA for receiving prohibited intravenous infusions more than 100 mL in 12 hours after the weigh-ins in June 2017 at UFC 212 against Oluwale Bamgbose and November 2017 at UFC 217 against Johny Hendricks. Costa was fined a third of his purse of the fights, which were reverted to his opponents. The suspension was retroactive to August 10, 2018, and Costa was eligible to fight again in February 2019. On March 23, 2020, Dr. Lucas Penchel, who provided the infusions in question, accepted a two-year ban from USADA, starting on March 13, 2020. Costa finally faced Romero on August 17, 2019, at UFC 241. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. Costa is scheduled to fight Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 253
Championships and accomplishments
Jungle Fight
*Middleweight Championship
*One successful title defense
Ultimate Fighting Championship)
*Performance of the Night vs. Garreth McLellan and Uriah Hall
