Costa believes his UFC 294 opponent Chimaev isn’t happy about having to face someone bigger as they prepare to battle in Abu Dhabi this fall.
Paulo Costa has sent a message to Khamzat Chimaev regarding the massive announcement last night of their UFC 294 fight in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Oct. 21, 2023, accusing “Borz” of attempting to duck him.
Yesterday (Weds., July 19, 2023), marked a big switch-up for Costa: he was originally set to fight Ikram Aliskerov in Salt Lake City, Utah, for UFC 291 in a few weeks. Now, both Costa and Aliskerov will still compete in the Middle East this fall, jut not against each other.
Instead, Costa will tangle with Chimaev and Aliskerov will battle Nassourdine Imavov.
Chimaev has been stuck on the sidelines through all of 2023 waiting for this Abu Dhabi bout to materialize. And it was looking shaky up until Wednesday. “Borz” had wanted to fight Kamru Usman, but UFC didn’t want to set up a Catchweight. And then as the Costa vs. Chimaev fight was undoubtedly coming together, Khamzat tweeted out a challenge to 170-pound kingpin, Leon Edwards.
Paulo Costa reacts to Khamzat Chimaev calling out Leon Edwards pic.twitter.com/MQLdhjAAhA
— Best MMA Moments (@XcellentMMA) July 19, 2023
Costa sees this is an attempt to duck him.
“What the f—? He’s terrified,” Costa exclaimed in an Instagram Story over a picture of Khamzat’s tweet. “Terrified! Look at this! Motherf—er, you can’t hide from me. You can’t hide from me. I swear for God, I feel sorry for him. Oh my God. I came to you, motherf—er! I came to you.”
He also re-shared a message from a fan that read, “No more weight bullying,” a clear charge that Chimaev’s success up until now is because of him fighting undersized opponents. He certainly won’t have a size advantage against “Borrachinha,” who missed weight for one of his Middleweight bouts so badly the fight had to be moved to 205 pounds.
Chimaev and Costa have been going back-and-forth on social media since a run-in at UFC’s Performance Institute last year that saw “Borz” try to pick a fight. Video shows Khamzat being held back from a physical altercation by his team, while Costa claims the Chechen fighter froze.
Now, they get to settle things properly in the cage, unless another crazy day of booking switch-ups happen. And with Costa and Chimaev, you never know!
For much more on UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi click here.