Khamzat Chimaev has issued a response after being called out during UFC 318 fight week.
July 19 is a huge date for Paulo Costa as he looks to bounce back from a difficult run of results in his recent outings.
While his former rival Israel Adesanya has urged Costa to ‘get serious again’, the Brazilian clearly has more on his mind than just his upcoming matchup.
His return at UFC 318 sees the former middleweight title challenger face Roman Kopylov in a fight that could have huge implications for their standings in the division.
However, during the media day, ‘Borrachinha’ looked to get another issue off his chest, as Costa slammed Chimaev for sending ‘nasty’ messages to his girlfriend during their rivalry.
Khamzat Chimaev mocks Paulo Costa in response to middleweight rival’s recent comments
Speaking ahead of his first fight in over a year, Paulo Costa claimed that regardless of whether Khamzat Chimaev wins or loses his next outing, he wants the opportunity to settle their feud.
The Brazilian called out the undefeated contender, labelling him as a “coward” and stating that he wants to “hurt him” after making the rivalry personal.
Costa was asked about his plans to call out Chimaev during the UFC 318 press conference where he said that while he’s focused on getting his hand raised on Saturday night, ‘Borz’ is still in his sights.
“You guys know about that already, everybody knows about that. We have a mutual hate. After this fight, I’m going to send a message for him but you need to wait to watch because my focus right now is on this guy. So, I need to focus on him but of course, I have a plan after that and I have unfinished business with Chimaev and I’m going to face him sooner or later.”
While Costa has been one of the most unpredictable and unique characters on the roster since he arrived in the UFC in 2017, his actions at the press conference did leave fans confused.
The #13-ranked middleweight was constantly bobbing and moving in his chair as he answered the question about Chimaev, which his rival then made reference to in his response.
Chimaev sent a response to Costa via social media where he highlighted one moment where ‘Borrachinha’ appeared to wipe his eyes when speaking on the matter.
“Bro, what’s going on with you? Don’t start to cry please.”
Khamzat Chimaev was booked to face Paulo Costa two years ago
The rivalry between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa started when they were matched up for UFC 294 in October of 2023.
Having missed weight in his previous outing at welterweight, this fight would have seen Chimaev seemingly commit to middleweight by taking on his first contender in the weight class.
Unfortunately, Costa was forced off the card after he revealed details of a substantial staph infection that required surgery to treat.
Dana White defended Costa who still intended on fighting at UFC 294, before Kamaru Usman stepped in on late notice to face Chimaev in the co-main event.