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Costa unsure of future after UFC 278 as 'outdated' contract expires

Jeff Bottari / UFC / Getty

Paulo Costa isn't sure what his plans are once his "outdated" contract expires following his UFC 278 middleweight meeting with Luke Rockhold on Saturday.

"You know, I really don't know," Costa told ESPN's Brett Okamoto. "This is a great company. I'm glad for everything, but I'm not happy, everybody knows, with my contract. I'm happy to be here, to do what I want to do and what I love to do, but I think the contract is very outdated."

He added: "I don't know my future. I need to talk. I have a lot of good opportunities outside (of UFC) as well. I love boxing, everybody knows that. So, let's see, but this is a very good company."

Costa later told reporters at UFC 278 media day that the fight against Rockhold is the final fight left on his deal, according to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn.

The Brazilian began his career with 13 consecutive victories, with five coming in the UFC. However, he's come up short in each of his last two contests, suffering a defeat via TKO to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 and a decision loss to Marvin Vettori in a light heavyweight match last October. The 31-year-old struggled to make weight for his meeting with Vettori, resulting in the fight being moved to light heavyweight.

Costa is confident that he has what it takes to get back to his winning ways against Rockhold.

"His chin will be tested," Costa said, per MMA Fighting's Damon Martin. "There's no doubt about that."

Saturday's UFC 278 card is headlined by a championship matchup between title holder Kamaru Usman and challenger Leon Edwards.

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