WATCH: UFC middleweight Derek Brunson acts drunk in call out video to Paulo Costa
UFC middleweight Derek Brunson has put forth a skit that features him acting drunk in a call-out to Paulo Costa. Brunson took to his official Twitter account and tweeted out a video that shows him acting drunk at a bar counter.
In the video, Derek Brunson, seemingly in an intoxicated state, approaches the bar counter. Brunson then looks into the camera and challenges Costa to fight him. However, Brunson’s behavior instantly changes and he appears to be sober while talking to the bartender.
The belief is that the skit’s ending was Derek Brunson’s way of reiterating that he was indeed putting up an act and wasn’t really inebriated. The perennial middleweight contender’s skit is purportedly meant to be a jibe at Paulo Costa’s infamous "wine" comments.
Heading into UFC 253 in September 2020, Paulo Costa and Israel Adesanya were undefeated professional MMA competitors. Costa entered the fight as the challenger, aiming to beat Adesanya for the latter’s UFC middleweight title.
Costa lost the fight via second-round TKO, but his war of words with Adesanya didn’t end there. He subsequently claimed that he was suffering from a hangover and/or was drunk at the time of the fight.
Paulo Costa consistently asserted that he was dealing with injury issues heading into the fight and had trouble sleeping the night before the fight. Costa revealed that he drank an entire bottle of wine in an attempt to get himself to sleep that night.
The Eraser believes that this, in turn, adversely affected his performance against Adesanya. Costa even suggested that "Sober Costa" is undefeated and would’ve easily beaten Adesanya.
Many in the MMA world have mocked Costa for his comments. On that note, Derek Brunson – who’s lately been lobbying for a fight against Costa – has released the skit, jibing at his wine excuse.
Derek Brunson and Paulo Costa have their sights set on UFC middleweight gold
Derek Brunson’s last fight was a unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland at UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland (March 2020). Meanwhile, Paulo Costa’s last fight was a second-round TKO loss against Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 (September 2020).
Paulo Costa was booked to face Robert Whittaker at UFC Vegas 24 (April 17, 2021), but he withdrew from the fight as he’d battled COVID-19 and had later been dealing with a severe flu.
With most fighters in the top-tier of the UFC middleweight division already booked for marquee matchups, Derek Brunson and Paulo Costa are likely to cross paths in the near future. A potential Brunson vs. Costa matchup would be pivotal for both fighters, as the winner could be propelled into the UFC middleweight title picture.