Paulo Costa Plans New Acclimating Strategy Ahead of Trip to Abu Dhabi for UFC 294

After facing adaptation problems in Abu Dhabi for his fight against Israel Adesanya in September 2020, Paulo Costa has a different schedule for his upcoming bout against Khamzat Chimaev in the same city at UFC 294 on Oct. 21.

In an interview on the Thunder Voice podcast, the Brazilian fighter stated that he intends to arrive in the United Arab Emirates almost two months prior to the fight for acclimatization and adjustment.

"We want to go to Abu Dhabi at the end of August or the beginning of September, nearly 50 days before the event. We'll be there with everything we need," said Costa, who in 2020 famously resorted to wine to help him sleep before the fight against Adesanya at UFC 253.

Always active on social media, “Borrachinha” fired back at Gilbert "Durinho" Burns, who had expressed doubts in an interview about whether his fellow Brazilian had signed an unprecedented million-dollar contract with the UFC.

"Durinho is limited! He doesn't know anything about what goes on in the UFC! That's probably why he's earning what he earns, which is way less than what I make. He doesn't grasp how the entertainment industry works, and he doesn't understand that people aren't extracting their full potential like they could. It's funny because he's not the only one doubting what I said about the value. Everyone who doubts lacks knowledge and is undervalued. The chances of them asking for or demanding fair pay is 0.1% because fighters don't know how much they're worth," Costa stated on his YouTube channel.

"I won't question Burns, but what I can say is: seek knowledge. Because there's no other way. How are you going to negotiate if you don't have a global understanding of the product?"