Add UFC 318 star Paulo Costa to the list of fighters interested in competing at The White House next year.
Former UFC title challenger Paulo Costa returns to the Octagon at UFC 318 this Saturday in New Orleans. Israel Adesanya‘s former rival faces Roman Kopylov in a pivotal matchup in the UFC middleweight division.
While Costa isn’t looking past Kopylov this weekend, he’s well prepared to make a big callout with a victory as he targets a potential fight at The White House.
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Paulo Costa wants to run it back with previously scheduled rival at The White House
U.S. President Donald Trump made headlines earlier this month when he announced that the UFC will host an event during Fourth of July weekend next year at The White House. UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the plans in recent interviews, as top names like Jon Jones and Conor McGregor threw their names into the hat.
White has another big name in Costa who is interested in settling a longtime beef in the Octagon.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Costa was asked about his ideal opponent for a potential UFC booking at The White House.
“Chimaev. This son of a b—, I want to fight this guy,” Costa said.
“It has to happen…I’ll call his name [out] after UFC 318, if God gives me this victory…he needs to fight me and I need to fight him. Because, look, I’ve tried to fight him for a long time. Since our beef inside the UFC PI, he has been avoiding to fight me for a long time. He always says no, and the UFC has tried to put this match together, for about two years…
“The UFC said he doesn’t want to fight me…and the week I got my surgery, he sent a message to my girl,” Costa continued. “He acted like a woman, treated her [badly]. Said ‘I’m going to beat your husband’…he’s so emotional and acts like a woman. I respect women, but a man can’t act like a woman and be so erratic. He loses control very easily, and that’s the kind of thing that women do, not men. So I don’t respect him.”
Khamzat Chimaev will face UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 319 main event next month. The undefeated contender returns to the Octagon after submitting former titleholder Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in October.
Chimaev and Costa were supposed to fight at UFC 294 before Costa withdrew due to injury. Chimaev went on to defeat former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a short-notice booking.
Khamzat Chimaev might retire at UFC 319 if he wins the middleweight belt
If Chimaev earned the UFC middleweight title next month, one top contender believes the undefeated star could abruptly retire from fighting. Caio Borralho shared a growing rumor that Chimaev intends to hang up the gloves with a win at UFC 319.
Costa is looking to get back in the win column this weekend after a loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 302 last year. His last victory came against former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 278.
Costa and Chimaev could potentially be on a collision course after their upcoming fights.