Paulo Costa dubs ‘The Axe Murderer’ as his favorite fighter of all time

UFC fighter Paulo Costa has named mixed martial arts legend Wanderlei Silva as his favourite fighter of all time.

Over the course of the last few months, Paulo Costa has seemingly gone from one of the biggest villains in the Ultimate Fighting Championship to one of the biggest heroes – and he’s done so by showing off his incredibly unique personality.

Alas, it also helped that he got back in the win column by beating Luke Rockhold in a bizarre fight, but either way the Brazilian sensation is making waves.

Costa has always been a big fan of the sport since he was young and during an interview with Ariel Helwani, he was asked about who his favourite fighter of all-time was – and he named someone that very few hardcore fans can forget.

“My favorite fighter? At the very beginning, Wanderlei Silva.”

“Why? He was in the Pride, and he showed a lot of wildness, desire, will, you know? I used to do this [imitates Silva’s hand roll] at home together with him [when he fought], ‘Let’s go Wanderlei! Let’s go!’”

Quotes via MMA News

Silva may not receive the same kind of critical acclaim these days as he once did, but it’s always good to see that the future of Brazilian MMA – or at least a small part of it – recognises what someone like Wanderlei was able to accomplish.

In terms of where Paulo is going to go from here, the middleweight superstar doesn’t have a match-up booked right now.

With regards to potential opponents, you’d have to think the frontrunners are Khamzat Chimaev and maybe even Robert Whittaker.

What do you think is next for Paulo Costa in his MMA career? What’s your favourite memory from the career of Wanderlei Silva? Let us know down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!