Paulo Costa hasn’t forgotten his would-be rivalry with Khamzat Chimaev.
It all started back in September 2022. Still a Welterweight, Khamzat ran into Costa mid-training session, and the two had to be separated to avoid a full-on fight at the UFC Performance Institute. Khamzat destroyed the scale for his planned Nate Diaz match up shortly afterward, forcing him up to 185-pounds.
With the two in the same weight class, the path was clear for a grudge match and introduction to the top-tier of Middleweight talent. The bout was booked for UFC 294, but unfortunately, Costa was forced to withdraw with a nasty elbow infection. Since then, the fight hasn’t been rebooked, and their careers have moved in different directions. Costa has lost two straight to former champions Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker, whereas Khamzat decisioned Kamaru Usman then demolished Whittaker.
“Borz” is just a few weeks away from a title shot, while Costa is fighting for his ranking this weekend (Sat., July 19, 2025) at UFC 318 opposite Roman Kopylov. Still, Costa wants an eventual reckoning versus Khamzat and points to it as his “dream fight.”
“If God gives me this victory, I will call his name,” Costa said of Chimaev to Ariel Helwani. “I’m gonna call this son of a b—ch, motherf—ker for a fight. He needs to fight me. I need to fight him.”
Costa continued, “I have tried to fight him for a long time, since we had a beef in the PI. He has been avoiding fighting me for a long time. He always say no, and UFC has tried to put this match up for a long time, like two years ago … Chimaev say no, he wants to fight anybody at 185 but he doesn’t want to fight you.”
Costa also claims that “Borz” direct messaged his wife after Costa’s elbow infection. Hopefully, it was nothing like a Conor McGregor DM!
Currently, Costa and Khamzat feel far apart, but it’s not impossible. If Costa can pull through as the underdog against Kopylov and Chimaev comes up short in his UFC 319 title bid, suddenly, it’s not so crazy of a match up.
