Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) criticized De Ridder's split decision win over Robert Whittaker in Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 headliner in Abu Dhabi, where he survived a knockdown in Round 3 to win the fight. "With all due respect, I would knock out de Ridder 3 x wich round. All that said congrats for your win today, despite bad fight."

UFC star Reinier de Ridder doesn't seem too concerned by the possibility of facing Paulo Costa at some point in the future.

De Ridder's Abu Dhabi victory was as close as it gets. Roughly half of all fans and media members scored it for Whittaker. Regardless, the result is in, and 'RDR' is a new challenger in the 185-pound division. This means accepting trash talk from his contemporaries.