Former UFC Middleweight title Challenger Paulo Costa accused Khamzat Chimaev of 'Nasty' messages to his girlfriend prior to UFC 318.
Paulo Costa will try to return to the win column when he is opposed to Roman Kopylov this Saturday at UFC 318. Costa vs. Kopylov serves as a Co-Main event for a stacked map, with the head of Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier 3.
Costa returns to the Octagon after he had fallen to the former middleweight title holder Sean Strickland on UFC 302 last year. The one-off title finer Costa could make a strong case for a title eliminator with a victory over UFC 318.
Although Costa has no significant root interest in Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus Du Plessis, he wants the chance to arrange for years of feud.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Paulo Costa-Khamzat Chimaev Feud escalates before UFC 318
Costa and Chimaev should fight on UFC 294 before Costa withdrew due to injury. He was replaced by former UFC champion Welterweight Kamaru Usman, who lost by the majority decision of the Chimaev.
Because their UFC 294 fight fell apart, the tensions between Costa and Chimaev did not enlighten it. The two have traded online shots for months and, according to Costa, Chimaev changed a light -hearted feud to involve his girlfriend in their beef.
During his UFC 318 Media Day conference, Costa contaminated his contempt for Chimaev.
'I want to fight [Chimaev] Very bad, “said Costa.” I want to hurt him. It doesn't matter if he won that fight or not. It doesn't matter. We have to fight. He talks very bad things about me, filthy, in my girl's Instagram DMs, so this is completely personal.
'Dirty things. Such as: “You have to look for a better man,” something like that. Not the kind of things that a real man, self -assured man would do. Why did he send her a message? Why didn't he send me a message instead of her? Coward. He is a coward. I feel angry to hear his name, so we have to fight.
“I am pretty sure that I will win the victory and I will mention his name, it doesn't matter if he wins or not. This fight will [only] Don't happen when he retires. (H/T MMA Fighting)
Costa recently stated that in 2026 he wants to fight the White House in the White House on the planned map of the UFC. Chimaev, who beat Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last year, will receive his long-awaited UFC title shot on UFC 319 next month.
At the moment, Chimaev did not respond to the comments from Costa. He has put together an Avengers-like super team to help him prepare for Du Plessis for UFC 319 while he wants to claim the throne of the middleweight.
Khamzat Chimaev submits Robert Whittaker to remain unbeaten 😤 #ufc308 pic.twitter.com/gmt7ucpqkc
– Sportscenter (@sportscenter) 26 October 2024
Khamzat Chimaev's UFC Future uncertain after recent comments from old rival
But the desired matchup of Costa with Chimaev became a potential speed bump after recent comments from one of the best contenders in the division. Caio Borralho, who trained with Chimaev earlier in their career, turned the attention when he claimed that he heard Chimaev that he could possibly win with a victory over UFC 319.
Chimaev has not tackled the statements of Borralho and seems to be fully focused on his middleweight title shot on UFC 319. But during his career, Chimaev has treated health problems that can influence the life expectancy of his UFC office period.
If Costa and Chimaev win their upcoming fights, we can get one step closer to seeing their feud in the Octagon.