Paulo Costa emphasizes that the rivalry with Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 294 is entirely genuine and not fabricated.
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Paulo Costa emphasizes that the rivalry with Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 294 is entirely genuine and not fabricated. As they gear up to face each other in a crucial matchup on the Oct. 21 fight card at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, Costa aims to make Chimaev’s middleweight debut a challenging one.
The highly anticipated matchup has been simmering for almost a year, ever since the encounter between the two at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, which occurred before Chimaev’s victory over Kevin Holland at UFC 279.
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Despite Costa’s occasional lightheartedness and joking demeanor, he asserted that the upcoming fight with Chimaev is a serious matter, and the rivalry between them is entirely genuine.
“100 percent (real),” Costa said in an interview. “I think against Adesanya it was a very personal fight, but I hate that dude. I’m training to make him suffer. Not only to beat him, but I want to do that in great style. I put all my skills and all my concentration, focus to be better than ever. Physically, mentally, technically. All parts together to help me perform better than ever. I know over there in Abu Dhabi it will be kind of his house, but I don’t care. I’m going there to take over.”
Costa has previously stated that Chimaev is a “dead man walking,” clarifying that he doesn’t harbor any intention to physically harm his opponent, despite their animosity. Nevertheless, he is determined to subject the undefeated fighter from Chechnya to considerable pain in the upcoming match.
“I don’t really expect that he dies,” Costa said. “It’s just an expression, but honestly, I don’t see any chance of him winning the fight. Honestly. I’m being very honest. This will be savage. This will be fireworks. This will be wild. I bring my best. I will be there.”
Following consecutive losses to champion Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori, Costa, representing Brazil, rebounded last summer with an exhilarating victory over former UFC and Strikeforce titleholder Luke Rockhold.
After a period of inactivity, Costa has recently inked a new UFC contract and expressed his readiness to embark on another journey towards the championship. He exudes confidence that a victory over Chimaev will guarantee him a second shot at UFC gold.
“I think the winner of this fight is going to be the first for the title shot,” Costa said. “I think the winner between me and Khamzat will be next in the line for the title shot.”
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