Dana White talks negotiations with Paulo Costa for new UFC deal

Dana White opened up about the negotiations with Paulo Costa for his new UFC deal.

Paulo Costa recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel of White's interview with Ag Fight, where he was asked whether it was difficult dealing with the former middleweight title challenger. The UFC president mentioned that it's not always easy negotiating with fighters and that they're all different, but it comes with being a fight promoter:

"I think that every fighter we deal with is different in certain ways. You know, some are easy, some are tougher, but that's our job; that's what we do. Our job is to get deals done, and we finally got him dialed in, and it will be fun to see him fight in Utah." [0:17 - 0:34]

The UFC president then said that 'Borrachinha' is coming off an impressive win over former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in what he believed was a very entertaining fight. He mentioned the thought process of matching him up with an unranked middleweight and assured fans that he's a tough opponent, saying:

"I guarantee you this, he's fighting a tough guy, and it'll be a damn good fight. And like I said before, when you're negotiating and doing deals with fights, you know. They're not as easy behind-the-scenes as they seem on the surface." [1:06 - 1:22]

Costa is set to return to the octagon against Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 and will look to continue his winning streak.

Check out the full video:

Who is Paulo Costa's opponent at UFC 291?

Paulo Costa is taking a risk at UFC 291 as he fights unranked middleweight Ikram Aliskerov.

Aliskerov earned his UFC contract following an impressive first-round submission win over Mario Sousa on Dana White's Contender Series. He followed up that performance with a first-round knockout over Phil Hawes in his promotional debut.

The Dagestani is currently riding a 6-fight winning streak and has only one loss in his career. It was a first-round knockout loss against surging contender Khamzat Chimaev in 2019 when both competed in Brave CF.

🔥Paulo Costa will take on Ikram Aliskerov at #UFC291 on July 29th.
[per Dana White]
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