Khamzat Chimaev isn’t all that interested in facing Paulo Costa despite their new beef.
Earlier this week (Tues., Sept. 6, 2022), footage surfaced of the two top Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contenders crossing paths in the UFC Performance Institute. They never got close enough to engage, but things quickly became heated as verbal jabs were thrown from across the room, which led to Chimaev getting held back by his team.
“Nothing [happened],” Chimaev said at UFC 279 media day. “Guy is talking about s—t about me, I never talk about that guy. Maybe he wants something, maybe he wants to be famous (laughs). Then Israel [Adesanya] f—k his ass. So what? All the world see that s—t. Now, to go back and do something with ‘Izzy.’
“Why [would I fight him]? I don’t fight with that kind of guys. He already [have] somebody f—k him up, you know. In the ass.”
Although they’re currently in different divisions, Chimaev at Welterweight and Costa at Middleweight, Chimaev has competed north of 170 pounds multiple times in his career and even has done so in the Octagon. However, Chimaev’s current focus is on his current weight class’ title as he hopes to earn his first shot at gold after a Nate Diaz win this weekend (Sat., Sept. 10, 2022) in UFC 279’s main event.
As for Costa, the one-time title challenger just recently rebounded off a two-fight skid, defeating Luke Rockhold via unanimous decision in UFC 278’s co-main event (watch highlights).
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 279 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 279: “Khamzat vs. Diaz” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.