Outside Source
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title challenger Costa (15-4) put a losing streak from 2024 behind him by winning a decision over Roman Kopylov in July. Recipient of multiple callouts, while more than willing to also call his own shots on his active social media pages, Costa has yet to get his next name from the promotion.
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While waiting, “Borrachinha” has already begun preparing for his return to the Octagon with physical trainer Andre Benkei. The former American Top Team and Blackzilians coach, who has helped the careers of a litany of athletes including Paulo Filho and Gleison Tibau, is especially impressed by the physical potential of “The Eraser.” Benkei spoke to Sherdog about Costa’s prowess and upcoming training options.
“I took him for some tests with UFC PI physiologist Dr. Roman Fomin, without a doubt the best physiologist I’ve ever worked with, and [Costa’s] numbers impressed us. Nature definitely endowed this guy with impressive aerobic capacity. And we haven’t even started training camp yet,” the coach bragged.
A Fighter Without a Dance Partner
Costa, who would like to return to the Octagon in January, has a plan for training even without an exact date to pinpoint on his calendar. After a week in Rio de Janeiro, where he trained for two days at Brazilian Top Team and another two with the multiple-time Shooto champion, Alexandre Nogueira, “Borrachinha” needs a moment to recover. He expects he will take a week with his family in Minas Gerais, Brazil, before departing for his real training camp, which will be located in Florida.
“My boss is passionate about MMA,” Benkei explained. “He has two UFC gyms, one in Largo, which is 25,000 square feet, and another in Pinellas Park, which is 22,400 square feet. The structure is impressive. Names like Chael Sonnen, Matt Hughes, Rashad Evans, Colby Covington and Dean Lister have been here and seen for themselves. His idea is to start the project by building an MMA team around [Costa’s] camp. We’re already bringing in fighters from Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Brazil, and obviously big names here in the U.S.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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