Khamzat Chimaev has been warned that it will only get harder from here.
The UFC Middleweight Division has a new champion and his name is Khamzat Chimaev. The productive wrestler from Chetsjenia rose to 15-0 with a dominant title victory on the South African champion Drus Du Plessis on UFC 319.
Chimaev has praised Du Plessis enormously in five rounds to win a unanimous decision.
The performance of Chimaev, considered one of the most dominant in the UFC history, has left fans who fear the worst for the rest of the contenders in his weight class.
However, there is a former title -which loves his chances against the new champion.
Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty images
'Really Middle Weight' Paulo Costa says that Khamzat Chimaev will not hold him
UFC 319 was Chimaev's third consecutive middleweight fight (185 pounds).
Prior to Du Plessis, Chimaev fought against good weights or former welter weights in Robert Whittaker, Kamaru Usman, Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns.
While Chimaev has previously dominated medium weights, they said ranked competitor Paulo Costa that 'Borz' will struggle against larger hunters like him.
“He dominated Dricus, but he could not do the same thing he used to do against good weights,” said Costa on the Ariel Helwani show.
“Like, maul the boys, finish the boys …
“If he is confronted with a real middleweight, a really heavy middleweight, he will have some problems,” Costa claimed.
'He's going to look boring [against du Plessis]. All other fights he was in exciting fight. Even Whittaker. Whittaker is a bit fast, super high, but not strong enough to stop a man like him.
“In my opinion, Dricus is a real middleweight …
“I know how to deal with these guys,” said Costa about Chimaev.
'Think of my fight against [Yoel] Romero. Romero is a high -level wrestler and also very good. And he couldn't put me down. He tried it four or five times. He put me [down] Once at the end of the second round, such as 10 seconds to complete. But he couldn't keep me there.
“If I fight against Khamzat, the same will happen. He couldn't stop me. Even if he brought me down. I don't think I am standing up against him all the time. I think he can put me down, but he won't keep me there.”
Paulo Costa shows how he will beat Khamzat Chimaev
Costa is currently at #12 in the UFC Midleweight Division, so it is unlikely that he will soon get a title, despite his history with Chimaev.
Costa was booked to face in the Co-Main event of UFC 294 in October 2023, but had a serious Staph infection that forced him to withdraw.
If they were to be reversed in the future, Costa says that he would defend the removal of Chimaev by repeatedly popping his head.
The Takedown defense percentage of Chimaev is 80% in the UFC.