Costa accuses UFC of double standards over Pereira's heavyweight ranking and title inconsistencies

Paulo Costa has taken aim at the UFC over what he calls systemic double standards, singling out Alex Pereira’s heavyweight ranking and the organisation’s handling of vacant titles as evidence of inconsistent governance.

Writing on X, Costa — known as “Borrachinha” — challenged the logic behind Pereira sitting fourth in the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings without a single win at the weight. Pereira (13-4) vacated the light heavyweight title earlier this year before moving up to heavyweight, where he lost to Ciryl Gane in an interim title bout at UFC Freedom 250. Despite that defeat, he retains a ranking ahead of fighters who have actually competed and won at the division.

“Yeah it’s really inconvenient; the UFC doesn’t have a consistent standard of behavior or set of rules — they use double standards all the time,” Costa wrote. “Another thing is, why on earth is Alex still ranked at Light Heavyweight after fighting and losing at Heavyweight? And why is he ranked 4th at Heavyweight without a single win there — ahead of [Josh Hokit]?”

Costa’s comments were partly prompted by a wider debate sparked when Valentina Shevchenko vacated the UFC women’s flyweight title to manage an injury. Rather than crowning an interim champion — the standard procedure in such cases — the UFC moved directly to a title fight between Natalia Silva and Cong Wang for the vacant belt at UFC 332 on 3 October at Delta Arena in Salt Lake City.

Cris Cyborg, the PFL women’s featherweight champion, added fuel to the debate by pointing out that UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison has been inactive for longer than Shevchenko was before vacating. Cyborg argued that if inactivity is the benchmark for stripping a title, Harrison should face the same scrutiny. Costa echoed that position.

Costa (16-4) has his own grievances with the promotion beyond the ranking debate. He has repeatedly claimed the UFC has failed to offer him a suitable opponent for the final fight remaining on his current contract, leaving his immediate future in the organisation unresolved.