Costa 'not even interested in fighting' unless it's against Vettori

Paulo Costa has his eye on one matchup, and one matchup only: a rematch with Marvin Vettori.

"It's the only fight that interests me," Costa told Ag. Fight in Portuguese, as translated by MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz. "No one else interests me. Unless if it's for the title, but I'm no fool. I'm not stupid (enough) to consider (a title fight) now."

He added: "(Vettori is) the only viable guy that interests me. If it's not him, I'm not even interested in fighting. I let (UFC president) Dana White know that."

Costa lost to Vettori by unanimous decision in a battle of former UFC middleweight title challengers last October. The fight was moved to the light heavyweight division - 20 pounds heavier - at the last minute due to concerns that Costa would miss weight.

The Brazilian challenged Israel Adesanya for the 185-pound belt in September 2020, losing by second-round TKO. Vettori lost to Adesanya last June.

Costa said his manager, Wallid Ismail, has informed UFC brass that he'll only accept Vettori as his next opponent. Costa added he has one fight left on his current UFC contract and won't re-sign with the promotion before the end of his deal.

There was some bad blood ahead of the Vettori-Costa fight four months ago, especially after the weight-class change, and Costa seems to still have a sour taste in his mouth.

"I don't respect (Vettori)," Costa said. "I want to end his life. He's an asshole, a fool. He had this win over me and thinks he's the man, but he's an asshole, a child. ... He can't even wear shorts the right way. There's a photo of him with his shorts backward, and he still thinks he's the man."

He continued: "I have to erase this loss. I want to leave him sidelined for at least a year after the beating I give him. I want to hurt him. I'm angry."