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Paulo Costa called out Khamzat Chimaev in harsh words after his UFC 318 win over Roman Kopylov.
At UFC 318, Costa performed exceptionally well, securing his first win against a ranked middleweight contender in Kopylov since 2019, despite being a betting underdog.
During the octagon interview with Daniel Cormier, the Brazilian expressed his disdain for Chimaev, stating:
"Everybody knows I hate that guy... Everybody knows who... Gourmet Chechen Chimaev. Yeah, he's a big a**hole. My wife is over here. He DM'd her. Not good, you know. This is a bad thing in every culture. He says bad things about her, but he never said those things to me because he is a coward. Chimaev, the Gourmet Chechen, you are a coward. I'm here, I am going to look for you, I am going to chase you. I will not stop until I get to you."
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Check out Paulo Costa's comments below (1:45):
For context, 'Gourmet Chechen' is a term coined by Costa for Chimaev. It likely means the Brazilian considers Chimaev a "fake gangster" or someone who pretends to be tough but is not.
Costa and Chimaev have had a bitter rivalry for several years. The two were previously scheduled to face off at UFC 294 in October 2023, but an injury forced Costa to withdraw, and Chimaev ended up fighting Kamaru Usman on short notice at the same event.
Despite Costa's callout, the likelihood of the fight happening soon appears slim due to the gap in their rankings.
The Chechen-born fighter is the No.3-ranked middleweight, scheduled to challenge champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 on Aug. 16. Meanwhile, with the win over Kopylov at UFC 318, Costa defended his No.13 position in the divisional rankings.
Costa's professional MMA career witnessed a steep decline after his win over Yoel Romero in August 2019, as he went 1-4 in his subsequent fights, losing to Israel Adesanya, Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland.
His only win during this period came against Luke Rockhold, who was unranked at the time and announced his retirement after losing to Costa in a closely contested bout.
