Paulo
Costa wants to bring excitement back to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division.

Costa (16-4) recently slammed former champions Jiri
Prochazka and Magomed
Ankalaev, calling Prochazka “dumb†for his loss to current
champ Carlos
Ulberg and labeling Ankalaev's last bout “boring.†The former
middleweight title challenger is now eyeing a title shot.

Paulo Costa unloads on Magomed Ankalaev after UFC Abu Dhabi
while making his case for a UFC light heavyweight title shot

Following Ankalaev's stoppage of Bogdan
Guskov at
UFC Abu Dhabi, Costa has taken repeated shots at the Russian.
Despite Ankalaev securing a late finish, their recent bout was
lackluster, primarily due to Guskov backtracking throughout. Costa
now claims the former 205-pound king is closer to getting cut from
the roster than the title.

Costa also slammed Prochazka for his lapse in judgment against
Ulberg, wherein the latter clearly suffered a leg injury in the
opening round. Prochazka noticed the injury but opted against
taking advantage of it before “Black Jag†knocked him out.

Speculating on whom he should fight next, Costa has taken to social
media to ask fans to weigh in.

“Some say I should fight Jiri or Ankalaev,†Costa wrote on
Instagram. “Jiri's coming off a dumb loss and Ankalaev, after sat
another super boring fight, is closer to getting cut than to the
title. What u think about it?â€

“Borrachinha†also posted a clip from a podcast wherein former UFC
fighter Kenny
Florian and commentator Jon Anik discussed Ankalaev's crowd
reception at UFC Abu Dhabi. Florian even proposed Costa's name for
the next light heavyweight title shot. In the post’s caption, Costa
highlighted that Ankalaev was booed in Abu Dhabi, which is usually
considered home turf for Dagestani fighters.

Costa is coming off back-to-back upset wins over Roman
Kopylov and a previously undefeated Azamat
Murzakanov.

Jon
Jones has mixed feelings about Dana
White.

When recently asked to describe the
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO in one word, Jones said
White is an “asshole.†However, the former double champ made sure
to emphasize that he describes White as such “right now†and
clarified that he loves White for changing his life.

Jon Jones explains why he called Dana White an ‘asshole’ after
UFC split with Tom Aspinall

The relationship between Jones and White soured amid the
promotion's efforts to book him against Tom
Aspinall. “Bones†ultimately vacated the heavyweight
championship, drawing the ire of the UFC head honcho. Nevertheless,
White continues to proclaim Jones is the GOAT despite their past
differences.

While their working relationship has seemingly hit a low point,
Jones admits that he'll always be grateful for the opportunities
afforded to him by the UFC.

“Right now, I'll say asshole,†Jones told ALF Global. “But I love
him, no matter what. He is my boss and he changed my life. But he's
an asshole right now.â€

Jones has indicated that he's still open to an Octagon return, but
his current priority is mentoring heavyweight up-and-comer Gable
Steveson.

Brendan Schaub believes Ian Machado Garry has a lot of work to do when it comes to promoting himself.

In the past, Schaub has give the top welterweight contender praise for his fighting style, and he believes “The Future†is a credible threat to Islam Makhachev's UFC Welterweight Championship. While Schaub thinks Garry has been handling business inside the Octagon, he feels it's a totally different story outside of it.

During episode 521 of “Big Brown Breakdown,†Schaub said that Garry's efforts to put more eyeballs on his UFC 330 title fight against Makhachev haven't exactly been a grand slam (via MMAFighting).

“That being said, outside of the octagon, he might have the worst interviews I've ever seen. His PR is so bad. He's the only guy I'd ever go, ‘Let's not do any promo for this fight. You're turning everybody off.' It's so bad. It's so bad. …

“This is coming from a fan. You've got to tighten your ship up, pal. You are NOT doing well in this PR game. Doing great in the UFC, but as far as PR goes, bro, could there be a worse interview? God damn, he's bad. …â€

Schaub went as far as to say his only interest in Garry is now solely on his fighting abilities.

“You know how people told LeBron James, ‘Shut up and dribble'? I never agreed with that. Like, come on man, they're people, too. You've got to let them express themselves. Until I heard Ian Garry do an interview. I'm like, ‘Shut up and fight.' Shut up and fight, because you're turning everybody off.â€

Garry's welterweight title opportunity is scheduled to take place on Aug. 15, and the event will emanate from Xfinity Mobile Arena. This will be the Irish star's first crack at UFC gold. He last fought back in Nov. 2025 when he scored a unanimous decision win over former UFC welterweight titleholder Belal Muhammad.

Do you agree with Brendan Schaub's harsh criticism of Ian Machado Garry's promotional efforts? Sound off in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

---