Paulo Costa has ripped into the UFC while explaining why he turned down a short-notice fight against former 205lb champion Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Fight Night 282 in Abu Dhabi in two weeks time.

“They called yesterday,” Costa told Ariel Helwani. “But I think it’s so short notice, like less than 14 days, to get a flight to Abu Dhabi. 16-hour flight to Abu Dhabi, five rounds, for the same money, and not even for an interim belt. I don’t think this makes sense right now.”

Costa, has one fight left on his current deal and had recently complained that the promotion were stalling on giving him a fight, but he feels like this particular short-notice offer was poorly handled.

“The way they handled these negotiations, I don’t think it’s the best way,” Costa said. “I think they push good talents away from them. They create a distance; they create beef between fighters and the guy who negotiates. We have seen this in the past. Francis was one of these guys. They pushed so hard; they pushed him away and gave him to big events like MVP.”

Costa also took to social media to drill the point home.

“Hey I have a great deal for you: NON TITLE Fight in 13 days short notice, Abu Dhabi, 5 rounds , same money, nothing better,” Costa wrote sarcastically on X.

After a lacklustre few years in the UFC, Costa has finally started to rediscover his form over the past year, picking up a convincing unanimous decision win over Roman Kopylov last year, and then successfully moving up to light-heavyweight with a head kick TKO finish against Azamat Murzakanov back in April.

So there’s a chance Costa could be a contender up at 205lbs, but with tensions running high between him and the UFC there’s currently no guarantee that he’ll stick around beyond the final fight on his current deal.