A new champion has entered the arena in the hallowed history of cringe-worthy celebrity first pitches. UFC’s Paulo “Borrachinha” Costa just submitted an all-time terrible baseball pitching that would make even the lowliest Little Leaguers wince. He has potentially overtaken Conor McGregor’s ill-fated pitch from a couple of years back.
Paulo Costa took the mound before the New York Mets battled the Los Angeles Dodgers. Costa did the pitching ahead of the upcoming UFC 302 PPV. The intimidating Brazilian middleweight abstained from traditional wind-up mechanics in favor of the unprepared heave-ho approach. The result showcased the embarrassingly errant pitch way off from the catcher’s mitt.
Of course, first-pitch fails have become a beloved novelty in professional sports culture. Still, Costa’s feeble effort managed to rise to instant infamy by dethroning Conor McGregor‘s equally abysmal 2021 misfire as the new standard of ceremonial ineptitude. McGregor’s fist pitch at the Chicago Cubs game saw a similar ball trajectory. It appears Costa may have even gone further than him in sheer misalignment.
Costa may be bad at pitching, but he sure knows his way around the octagon. The former title challenger is now set to fight against the former champion Sean Strickland this weekend. They will duke it out in the co-main event. Nevertheless, fight fans couldn’t stop talking about it online.
Fans compare Paulo Costa’s wild baseball pitch to Conor McGregor
UFC middleweight Paulo Costa took the mound for a ceremonial first pitch before a New York Mets game. It turns out only a few could have predicted the hilarious calamity that ensued. The Brazilian fighter uncorked a throw so epically off-target that it instantly went viral. This sparked an outpouring of bemused reactions across MMA fandom.
Fans believe Paulo Costa pitching baseball might be worse than Conor McGregor (Image via Imago)Fight fans wasted no time reveling in the light-hearted debacle. The main theme of the reactions was fixated upon the hilarity of the situation. Some fans of the fight compared the pitch to that of Conor McGregor and rapper 50 Cent. Others made comparisons between the MLB world and the MMA world. Here are some of the reactions from fight fans:
Paulo is just that guy
— Ben Davis (@BenTheBaneDavis) May 29, 2024
Michelle Waterson levels of accuracy
— Andy Hickey MMA (@AndyHickeyMMA) May 29, 2024
Lucky there was like 17 people there to see it.
— Wise Guy (@WiseGuyBets87) May 30, 2024
There is no upside to throwing out a first pitch, it’s the same as singing the national anthem.
— Joel Squire (@JoelTSquire) May 30, 2024
Reminds me of how he did against Adesanya🤣🤣
— Knockout of the day (@KOofTheDAY) May 30, 2024
In the end, Paulo Costa’s gloriously botched moment on the mound produced a memorable moment, although not in the sense Costa may have thought. A shared laugh between MLB performers and fight fans united the two sports into a moment of shared hilarity.
