After a rough patch and a year-long hiatus from competition, Paulo Costa promised fans a new version of himself. And the Brazilian heading into UFC 318 backed up every word. The former middleweight title challenger snapped his cold streak in emphatic fashion, earning his first victory in nearly three years—and just his second in almost six—with a unanimous decision over rising prospect Roman Kopylov. With scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28, Costa got his hand raised in the co-main event at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The Brazilian is now focusing on the upcoming UFC 319 fight featuring Khamzat Chimaev. For the unversed, Costa and Chimaev have been simmering ever since ‘Borz’ made the jump to the 185-pound division.
The two have rarely passed up an opportunity to trade verbal jabs, keeping their feud alive and fiery. At one point, they were even scheduled to settle the score at UFC 294, but fate had other plans. An injury forced Costa out, and Kamaru Usman stepped in on short notice to save the card. Still, the bad blood didn’t fade. If anything, the rivalry has only intensified in the months since. Costa, during his conversation at the UFC 318 media day, said, “I want to fight [Chimaev] very badly. I want to hurt him. It doesn’t matter if he won that fight or not. It doesn’t matter. We need to fight. He talk very bad things about me, nasty, in my girl’s Instagram DMs, so this is totally personal.”
Paulo Costa eventually claimed that Khamzat Chimaev crossed a line by telling Costa’s girlfriend she “deserves a better man” than him. This was also the topic of discussion during the UFC 318 post-fight press conference. One of the reporters asked the Brazilian fighter about the whole incident and said, “I don’t want to upset you, but Khamzat has tweeted, and he said it was your wife who DM’d him and that you are lying.” Costa shared his honest opinion on the whole and said, “he’s lying.” The Brazilian also shared that he is desperately waiting to watch UFC 319 from the crowd.
Costa was further asked, “Will you go to Chicago to watch his fight and show the UFC that’s how bad you want to fight him?” ‘Borrachina’ was very quick to respond and said, “Yes, I do that. I plan with that. If UFC allows me, I will be there in Chicago in a few weeks.” It seems ‘Borz’ has been keeping a close eye on the pay-per-view action from home. After Costa’s post-fight interview, Chimaev fired back with a message of his own—and his version of events tells a very different story. He took to his X account and tweeted, “It was she who wrote to me habibi,”. After hearing Chimaev’s version, it seems the rivalry is far from over, and Costa is ready to take the battle to ‘Borz’.
Paulo Costa has plans to ‘chase’ Khamzat Chimaev after recent controversy
Paulo Costa looked more fired up than ever when addressing Khamzat Chimaev’s alleged comments about his girlfriend. Clearly still seething, Costa didn’t hold back in his post-fight Octagon interview. He unloaded on Chimaev, taking shots at the undefeated contender and throwing down the gauntlet for a future showdown. With fury in his voice, Costa made it clear—he’s not just calling Chimaev out, he’s actively hunting for him. Now, all eyes are on how ‘Borz’ will respond to the Brazilian’s fiery challenge. While speaking to Daniel Cormier, he said, “He say bad things about me, about her [his girlfriend]. But he never said to me [face to face] because he’s a coward,”.
The Brazilian further added, “Chimaev [inaudible], you’re a coward. And I’m here, I’m going to look for you. I’m gonna chase for you, and I will not with you [until] I get you.” The Brazilian powerhouse is clearly fired up over the ongoing tension with Khamzat Chimaev, while ‘Borz’ seems genuinely baffled about what sparked the fire. The disconnect between the two only adds more fuel to an already heated rivalry. With Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev offering two completely different versions of the story, the situation has become even murkier.
Now that Chimaev has fired back with his response, all eyes are on what happens next. But for ‘Borz,’ there’s a more immediate concern—his upcoming title fight at UFC 319, now just weeks away. While the entire middleweight division is looking forward to the clash, Costa has a personal war going on. However, the big question is, will we see the Brazilian at the UFC 319 event? Or will the UFC not allow Costa to be present at the event? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Paulo Costa Calls ‘Liar’ Khamzat Chimaev’s Bluff About His Girlfriend While Confirming UFC 319 Attendance appeared first on EssentiallySports.
