UFC Star Offers to Replace Derrick Lewis & Fight Josh Hokit on UFC White House Card

Coming off arguably the biggest win of his career, Paulo Costa has offered to jump up another weight class and fight on the upcoming UFC White House card.

A former middleweight title challenger, Costa moved up to the light heavyweight division at UFC 327 to take on top-ranked contender Azamat Murzakanov in the co-main event slot before the card’s headlining title bout between Carlos Ulberg and Jiří Procházka.

Coming into the night as an underdog to the undefeated Murzakanov, Costa put on an impressive showing and handed “The Professional” the first loss of his career via TKO-stoppage in the third round.

Paulo Costa Targets Heavyweight Fight On UFC White House Card

Costa now finds himself ranked at #7 in the light heavyweight division, but he’s apparently already eyeing a potential jump up to heavyweight if there are any issues with the scheduled “UFC Freedom 250” fight between Derrick Lewis and Josh Hokit.

I just let ufc knows if Derek Lewis gets out his fight for some reason I will step in at White House as heavyweight . No bullshit , ain’t lying.
— Paulo Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA) April 20, 2026

"I just let ufc knows if Derek Lewis gets out his fight for some reason I will step in at White House as heavyweight . No bulls*** , ain’t lying."

Hokit competed one fight before Costa on the UFC 327 main card and extended his undefeated record to 9-0 with a unanimous decision over Curtis Blaydes. The bloody war took home “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC 327 and is arguably the current frontrunner for “Fight of the Year” in 2026.

Josh Hokit (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Curtis Blaydes (red gloves) during UFC 327 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The win over perennial top contender Blaydes vaulted Hokit into the heavyweight rankings after just three UFC appearances, and “The Incredible Hok” was almost immediately booked to meet Lewis at The White House on June 14.

Should Paulo Costa Replace "The Black Beast" And Fight Josh Hokit?

Following his initial post, Costa made it clear that his offer to step in at “UFC Freedom 250” only applies to a matchup with Hokit, and the Brazilian even suggested that the UFC find a different opponent for Lewis.

Right now, I think practically all the fans would like to see how I, who was perhaps the biggest middleweight in history, would fare against Hokit in the Heavyweight division without cutting any weight at the White House. wouldn't be surprised if I came in heavier than him. If…
— Paulo Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA) April 20, 2026

"Right now, I think practically all the fans would like to see how I, who was perhaps the biggest middleweight in history, would fare against Hokit in the Heavyweight division without cutting any weight at the White House. wouldn't be surprised if I came in heavier than him. If Trump still wants Derick there , book him with somebody else ."

Derrick Lewis (red gloves) fights Rodrigo Nascimento (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

The UFC’s all-time leader in knockouts, Lewis currently sits at #9 in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. The former title challenger added to his record number of knockout victories by stopping Rodrigo Nascimento and Tallison Teixeira in 2024 and 2025, but in his most recent outing at UFC 324 the 41-year-old was stopped in the second round by Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

Paulo Costa (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Azamat Murzakanov (red gloves) during UFC 327 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The UFC’s initial announcement for “UFC Freedom 250” featured six fights, and it was reportedly only due to a request from Donald Trump that Lewis vs. Hokit was added to the event. It seems unlikely that the promotion will pull Lewis from that matchup in order to add an eighth fight to the card, but Costa does appear ready and willing to step in if “The Black Beast” is unable to enter the Octagon on June 14.

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