Khamzat Chimaev has a sense of humor.
At the same time, “Borz” wants middleweight rivals like Paulo Costa to respect the line that separates “jokes” and “trash talk” from personal attacks. That said, “The Eraser” claims Chimaev crossed a few lines of his own leading up to their since-canceled fight at UFC 294.
“I’m gonna report this harassment by [Chimaev] towards my girlfriend/future mother of my children and manager,” Costa wrote on Twitter. “I felt threatened by this handsome guy [messaging] her on DM. Please Tamara Alves don’t be fooled by that beautiful face. Inshallah.”
Chimaev, not surprisingly, has a different version of their social media exchange.
“She writing to me, she delete the message,” Chimaev said when asked about Costa’s “future wife” during the UFC 294 media day (watch the replay here). “She write to me, ‘Please Khamzat, don’t take it like serious, he wants to make money,’ and she delete that. I just send a picture to her, a funny picture to just have fun. I don’t have anything against his wife or anything. She write to me like, it’s not personal, we try to make money. I send the picture. I told her, people don’t make money that way. He has to be a man. Anyway. Jokes, jokes, I understand. Trash talk, trash talk, has to be one line. Don’t jump over this sh*t.”
Follow Chimaev’s lead and stick to funny pictures (like these).
Chimaev and Costa will not be able to settle their score in the UFC 294 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi because “The Eraser” was rubbed out by a nasty elbow infection. Taking his place on short notice is former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who is still trying to convince the MMA conspiracy squad that he’s not injured.
For much more on the canceled Costa fight click here.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 294 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 10 a.m. ET, followed by the UFC 294 PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 294: “Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the complete UFC 294 fight card and PPV lineup click here.