Paulo Costa warns Khamzat Chimaev over potential move to 205

Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC

Paulo Costa’s rivalry with the UFC middleweight champion isn’t showing any signs of letting up, even though he’s left the division behind.

‘Borrachinha’ has been trading shots with Khamzat Chimaev ever since their planned fight at UFC 294 back in October 2023.

Costa has made no secret of his desire to face the Chechen, but unlike Chimaev, he never managed to climb his way to a title shot at 185 pounds.

Since then, Costa has moved up to light heavyweight, making an immediate impact by knocking out Azamat Murzakanov and breaking into the top 10. But that hasn’t closed the door on a potential meeting with Chimaev.

Paulo Costa backs himself to beat Khamzat Chimaev if both move to light heavyweight

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Khamzat Chimaev is set to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 328, marking the American’s first shot at the belt since losing it in August last year.

There are already whispers that Chimaev could soon step up to light heavyweight, with talk growing that he might try to become a two-division champion.

If that move happens, it could open the door for a long-awaited fight between him and Costa. The Brazilian has been quick to point out that a potential matchup would look very different at 205 pounds compared to their days at middleweight.

Costa added, “At 205, I am a monster. I don’t need to burn any muscle, sacrifice any muscle from my body to make 185.”

“At 205, I have full secret juice power,” he continued. “It’s going to be tragic for him.”

After stopping Murzakanov, Costa was immediately linked with title contention. And after Ulberg’s ACL injury during his championship-winning knockout of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 327, there’s been plenty of talk about interim title bouts involving Costa.