Paulo Costa was last seen in action at UFC 241, defeating Yoel Romero by way of unanimous decision.
The fighter only wants to compete for another eight years until the age of 36, plus Costa would like to donate his brain for research purposes in the future.
“We know that the brain is made of cells that don’t regenerate anymore, we can only lose them. As you age, that amount of cells decreases, so your reflexes become slower, your speech becomes worse, you forget things. I do some research some times. There is Rose, from the Gracie family, she runs a brain donation campaign, for fighters, there’s a whole field of research about that. I want to make my career as soon as possible, conquer everything, then I don’t want to fight after I’m 36. I would gladly give them my brain,” Costa said to AG Fight.
Costa is currently 28 years old and he holds a 13-0-0 record as a professional MMA fighter.
One thing Costa says is that he doesn’t spar with MMA gloves to protect the brain from injury, as the fighter will only spar using boxing gloves.
“That’s a pretty serious issue, because we don’t have the data to find out how much that can affect each of us. Each one will have different symptoms and will react different to that amount of strikes, What you can do is fight in a way that minimizes those blows to the head. During a training session, you can wear protective gear, like helmets. That can really minimize the damage. I wear big gloves, I never spar in MMA gloves, I always wear 16-ounce gloves, so I can avoid strikes to the head,” says Costa.
There is no word yet on when Costa will fight again, as the fighter underwent bicep surgery last year.
