Chimaev angers Costa: "He's texting my girlfriend, we have to fight"

Khamzat Chimaev is a name that evokes special emotions in Paolo Costa. The Brazilian middleweight, once an important part of the UFC scene, is now looking towards a fight against Chimaev as something that has to happen.

Costa used to be a big name within the UFC. With his impressive physical abilities, he quickly made a series of victories, and even won the opportunity for the title of middleweight champion. However, he then encountered Isreal Adesanya, who brutally defeated him and practically destroyed his dreams of a championship crown. 

After that, he performed with mixed success, and losses to veterans Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland showed that he was far from the very top.

Although he is currently ranked 13th in the list of challengers, this weekend he has a fight against Roman Kopilov, who is right behind him in the rankings. Despite the dangerous opponent, Paulo is already thinking about the match with Khamzat Chimaev.

Statement

At last night's press conference, he made no secret of how important the fight was to him:

"I really want to fight Chimaev. I want to hurt him. It doesn't matter if he beats Dricus Du Plessis or not, we have to fight. He said really bad things about me and he was messaging my girlfriend on Instagram. So, this is all very personal. I feel angry every time I hear his name and that's why we have to fight. I'm pretty sure I'll win on Saturday and then I'll call him out, regardless of whether he wins the next fight or not. Our fight won't happen unless he retires," he said clearly.

Many remember that the tensions between these two fighters have been present for a long time. Their fight was originally planned for October 2023, but Costa had to withdraw due to an infection, and his appearance was replaced by Kamaru Usman. After that, the tensions calmed down somewhat.

Chimaev has since taken a big step towards a title shot and is scheduled to fight Dricus Du Plessis on August 16 at UFC 319. Paulo is using his fame to raise his profile, as he looks to quickly jump the ladder to the top. Currently, Chimaev is well above him in the rankings, so the Brazilian will need to keep winning to get a chance to fight the best again.