Paulo Costa apparently thought a lot about how his matchup with bitter rival Khamzat Chimaev would play in the UFC Octagon.
The cancellation of Costa's collision with Chimaev on UFC 294 in October 2023 only added fuel to the fire of their rivalry, and the heat continued to pick up this year.
While Chimaev has his current focus on the middleweight title of Dricus Du Plessis, this month it returned to a resort with 'Borrachinha' to the surface after Costa Roman Kopylov on UFC 318 defeated to return to winning ways.
In addition to alleged messages that the Chechene has sent to the girlfriend of his Brazilian enemy, has only increased hostility, and Costa is convinced that he will pay 'Borz' when the time comes.
Paulo Costa gives a detailed breakdown of the future Khamzat Chimaev -Showdown
During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, Costa gave an incredibly detailed breakdown of exactly how he would get the next middleweight title in the cage.
No man has still squatted the puzzle who is the unbeaten Chimaev, including an earlier opponent he shares with Costa in Robert Whittaker. While the Brazilian dropped a decision to the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi headliner, Chimaev Whittaker crushed in one round.
However, Costa believes that he has discovered a clear path to victory over 'Borz'.
“This is fairly simple, and I'm going to break down (it),” said Costa, when he was asked how he sees a fight with Chimaev. “I can now see this very clearly in my mind, how it will happen.
“He will be very stressed, anxious and angry against me, okay? As soon as the fight starts, he will come, give some punches, and he will shoot immediately on my legs.
“I'm going to spend some time defending his Takedowns,” Costa continued. “He is going to try, try, try, push, push, push. I think he will be exhausted after a minute and a half, perhaps a half and a half. His arms and shoulders will be heavy as a heavyweight.
“Then he will realize that he has not put my back on the mat … And he will be heavy and slow. Maybe I will not finish it in the very first round. I will let him play, everything he has, until he will be a dead man who runs in the second round.”
That is when Costa intended to start an attack.
“Then I will hit his belly as much as possible as I can (with) front shots, body shots, until I see that he wants to give up,” said Costa. “When I see that, I start to hit his face and make him uglier than he.”
Paulo Costa will be in the neighborhood for the title challenge of Khamzat Chimaev
Costa's urge for a rearrangement struggle with Chimaev probably seems to bring him to Chicago.
During his press conference after the fight in New Orleans, Costa revealed his plan to attend UFC 319 to perhaps increase his chances of tackling 'Borz', regardless of whether he beats champion du Plessis.
“I was locked up, 100 percent focused on this fight,” Costa said about his victory over UFC 318 before I started watching.
“Yes, I intend to do that (attending UFC 319 in Chicago). I intend to do that. If the UFC allows me, I will be in Chicago in a few weeks,” he added.
Chimaev will challenge du Plessis in the main event of UFC 319 in the United Center of Chicago on August 16.