It’s the middleweight clash that feels years in the making. Khamzat Chimaev will finally take on Paulo Costa at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Chimaev, who will make his middleweight debut on the night, is promising a tough night at the office for “Borrachinha,” telling TNT Sports that he wants to make Costa cry.
“I’m going to make that guy cry in the cage, like I always do. I make everyone scared. [Kamaru] Usman said, ‘He’s the boogie man,’ and all these guys think that about me, but when it comes to the fight, they have some surgeries, some problems.
Khamzat Chimaev Vows To Make Paulo Costa Cry In UFC Middleweight Debut
So, I don’t know, I fight with everybody. Ask [UFC President] Dana White, I never say no. … I’ve been out for a long time, so I’ve been training all the time. When big money comes, maybe it’s hard to make fights for me.”
Chimaev’s run through the welterweight division began in 2020, at Fight Island, and saw him amass a five-fight winning streak, including a major victory over elite contender Gilbert Burns.
However, this came to an end when Chimaev failed to make weight ahead of a headline fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 279, and instead he found himself in a catchweight bout against Kevin Holland. Although Chimaev won on the night, he has not fought since.
He insists that he can still make the 170-pound welterweight limit, but the towering Chechen may well find that the middleweight division suits him.
“I can go down to 170, I just need some time. Not like last time, give me four weeks.”
There’s also a clear path to UFC gold for Chimaev if he sticks around at 185 pounds. Paulo Costa is ranked #7 in the UFC middleweight division. A win in September creates a clear path – perhaps waylaid by another fight – to reigning champ, Israel Adesanya.
“If he stays the champ, of course I’ve got my eye on him. All the champs are in my eye. I want to have my belts, at least three belts.”
In the meantime, Chimaev has one mission. He wants to make Paulo Costa suffer in the Octagon. Chimaev even believes that Costa, who hails from Brazil, is so heavily disliked in his home country that his fellow Brazilians have turned on him and want to see Chimaev take the win.
“Nobody likes him. All the Brazilians support me. That guy is not Brazilian. So I’m going to go smash this guy, make him cry.”
