VIDEO | Paulo Costa knocks out Logan Paul in sparring

New training footage has emerged of UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa knocking out YouTube sensation Logan Paul in sparring.

Costa is one of the best fighters in the UFC middleweight division while Paul is a YouTuber-turned combat sports star. Paul has had two boxing matches, including a professional bout against rival KSI last November, which resulted in Paul losing a controversial split decision after having points deducted due to illegal blows.

Since the KSI fight, there have been rumors about Paul trying his hand at mixed martial arts. He has called out CM Punk for a potential bout in the UFC, as well as Logan Paul for a potential boxing match. However, nothing has been booked up into this point. If this footage of Paul training with Costa is any indication, though, perhaps Paul is serious about his MMA aspirations.

Below, take a look at the video of Costa knocking out Paul (via Paul’s YouTube).

https://twitter.com/BelowTheBeltMMA/status/1237146551669198850

Costa knocking out Paul isn’t surprising at all considering it was a sparring match featuring a UFC contender against a YouTuber. Still, the video is pretty funny, and obviously Paul is playing it up on his social media in an effort to get himself noticed by the MMA community.

Of course, for Costa, this is just more exposure as he is quickly becoming a popular fighter on the UFC roster as he aims towards a title shot against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Following Adesanya’s successful title defense against Yoel Romero at UFC 248 this past weekend, Costa was named by UFC president Dana White as the next No. 1 contender to fight for the belt. He’ll need to get in some training with some real MMA competitors, but for now, knocking out Paul is a start.

What do you make of the Paulo Costa vs. Logan Paul sparring video?