Paulo Henrique Costa was born on April 21, 1991, in Belo Horizonte, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and was raised in the working class Contagem area of the city, according to his Wikipedia biography. He grew up playing football before taking up Muay Thai at age nine, a discipline he later said he chose partly to learn control and avoid street fights. His father died of throat cancer when Costa was 17, and he went on to work in real estate and as an IT instructor teaching Microsoft Office courses to help support his mother before MMA became a full time career.

Costa trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu alongside his brother Carlos, eventually earning his black belt, and it was Carlos who persuaded their mother to financially support Paulo for one year so he could pursue mixed martial arts professionally. Costa made his professional MMA debut in Brazil in February 2012 and spent the next five years building an unbeaten 8-0 regional record with seven knockouts, catching the attention of UFC matchmakers.

Costa signed with the UFC and made his promotional debut on March 11, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 106, stopping Garreth McLellan in the first round to collect a Performance of the Night bonus. He followed that with wins over Oluwale Bamgbose and Johny Hendricks before a June 2018 knockout of Uriah Hall at UFC 226, a win that made him, at 12-0, the first middleweight in UFC history to record knockouts in each of his first four fights in the promotion, as detailed by CBS Sports.

In August 2019, Costa handed veteran Yoel Romero a unanimous decision loss at UFC 241 in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors and pushed his record to 13-0, setting up a shot at the UFC middleweight championship. He challenged then-champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 in September 2020, an event detailed on the official UFC event page, losing by second round TKO in what was his first professional defeat. He rebounded with a Fight of the Night win over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 in August 2022, then moved up to light heavyweight, eventually stringing together wins over Roman Kopylov in July 2025 and previously unbeaten prospect Azamat Murzakanov via a head kick TKO at UFC 327 in April 2026, a result that pushed him into the light heavyweight top five, as reported by Bloody Elbow. His career record stands at 16 wins and 4 losses, with four total Fight or Performance of the Night bonuses.

Costa’s nickname “Borrachinha,” often rendered in English language coverage as “The Eraser,” has become one of the more recognizable brands in MMA, built on his chiseled physique, relentless pressure fighting style, and a habit of making colorful, headline grabbing claims in interviews and on social media. Outlets such as Sportskeeda have chronicled his tendency to court attention with bold statements, and that persona has helped him remain a consistent draw on UFC pay-per-view cards even outside of title contention.

Earlier in his UFC career, Costa’s sponsorship income came primarily through the promotion’s Reebok outfitting program and a since-lapsed partnership with Crypto.com. In early 2026, Costa signed a new brand sponsorship deal with health and wellness company Dialed Moods to promote its all natural supplement line, joining fellow combat sports athletes Blair Cobbs and Nicky Ryan on the roster, as announced in a BusinessWire press release.

Costa has turned his “Secret Juice” running joke, a nickname he gave to an energy drink concoction he is frequently seen carrying, into an actual branded venture, selling merchandise tied to the bit and publicly floating the idea of it becoming an official UFC partner product, according to MiddleEasy. He is managed by Tamara Alves, a businesswoman who also founded the supplement and fitness accessory company MundoFit, connecting Costa to the broader combat sports supplement industry beyond his own fighting career.

Costa keeps most details of his real estate and vehicle holdings out of public view, and no verified property portfolio has been documented. One of the few glimpses into his personal spending came when he admitted, in comments picked up by Yahoo Sports, that a used BMW he bought in Las Vegas turned out to be his worst purchase, citing unexpectedly steep repair and maintenance costs. Beyond that anecdote, Costa has not publicly disclosed ownership of homes, additional vehicles, or other major assets.