Following their UFC Performance Institute run-in earlier this week, incoming UFC 279 headliner, Khamzat Chimaev has distanced himself from a potential fight with Paulo Costa in the future – once more mocking the Brazilian’s knockout loss to middleweight kingpin, Israel Adesanya.
Ahead of his first promotional headliner this weekend, Chimaev was engaged in a verbal back-and-forth with former middleweight title challenger, Costa at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada – with the Chechen-born fighter’s entourage holding him back from a physical confrontation.
Off the back of their back-and-forth verbal battle, Costa claimed that Chimaev was a “fake gangster” and a “gourmet Chechen” – after the #3 ranked welterweight contender poked fun at his knockout loss to Adesanya back in 2020, as well as the controversial post-fight celebration Costa was subjected to, as Adesanya thrust his hips toward him.
Khamzat Chimaev again pokes fun at Paulo Costa’s KO loss to Israel Adesanya
Calling for a fight with Chimaev should the AllStars staple topple Nate Diaz this weekend, Costa’s offer appears to have been rebuffed by the former, who has questioned why he would share the Octagon with the Belo Horizonte native.
“Nothing (happened),” Khamzat Chimaev said of his confrontation with Paulo Costa during his media availability on Wednesday. “He was talking sh*t about me. I never talked about that guy, maybe once or something. He wants to be famous now. Israel (Adesanya) f*cked his ass. So what? All the world saw that sh*t. He has to to go back and do something easy.”
“Why [should I fight him]?” Khamzat Chimaev asked. “I don’t fight with that guy (Paulo Costa). Somebody already f*cked him up in the ass.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)
In the midst of an 11 fight undefeated run during his professional career, Chimaev last defeated former welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns in a hard-fought unanimous decision win at UFC 273 back in April of this year.
As for Costa, the one-time title chaser returned to the winner’s enclosure last month at UFC 278 with a unanimous decision win of his own against former champion, Luke Rockhold – snapping a two-fight losing skid.