Paulo Costa drops a bombshell about Khamzat Chimaev fight, fans outraged

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Paulo Costa thinks Khamzat Chimaev won’t be the same after his first defeat.

Chimaev suffered the first defeat of his professional career on Saturday, falling short in the UFC 328 main event against Sean Strickland.

‘Borz’ started well but appeared to slow down after round two, which gave Strickland an opening in the middle rounds before Chimaev tried to rally late.

After the fight, Chimaev told Dana White that he no longer wants to compete at middleweight, hinting again at a move up to light heavyweight.

Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC

Paulo Costa says he isn’t interested in a fight with Khamzat Chimaev, despite their history

Even before his first middleweight title defence, Chimaev had already hinted that he didn’t see himself staying in the division for long.

The Brazilian later responded to a fan on social media who suggested that the fight could still happen. He pointed to the delay in making it, saying: “He was never there. This match was supposed to happen two years ago. It is too late.”

Despite this, the Brazilian revealed that he no longer sees the fight as necessary. “People, listen to me. Gourmet Chechen is done. He is over,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Will never be back, stop mentioning a possibility to make this match. We’ve great (other) warriors to set up a big fight.”

Back in 2023, they were supposed to face off at UFC 294 before an injury forced Costa out of the bout. With Chimaev’s profile and reputation already well-established, his light heavyweight debut is expected to come with immediate title implications.

Carlos Ulberg remains sidelined with an ACL injury, and there have been suggestions that an interim belt could be introduced—with Chimaev possibly fighting for it.