Paulo Costa has one fight remaining on his current UFC contract, and he wants it to be against Khamzat Chimaev.
The Brazilian middleweight hopes that with enough taunting, he’ll get Chimaev to bite and move up to 185 pounds.
Monday’s MMA hour , Costa worked harder on this front. He claimed credit for the huge weight loss that caused Chimaev to miss a UFC 279 main event against Nate Diaz.
“Chimaev, because he’s on [a] high,” Costa said. “I stole some of his high. “I stole some of his highs, his sleep and his cap. I also stole his main fight. I stole everything.”
Costa turned to the camera, daring his opponent to get up.
“Chiamaev, you need to do something, motherf*****,” he said. “I stole everything that you had. You stole your night of sleep and your hat. I also stole your weight-in. Your behavior is so bizarre. ‘I cannot do this, I will die.’ So I think I need to fight that guy.”
Costa doesn’t rule out a new contract with the UFC after making a disclosed $65,000 to show and $65,000 to win for his UFC 278 decision over Luke Rockhold. He does want a bump in pay, however, and said his girlfriend/manager Tamara Alves could meet soon with UFC exec Hunter Campbell to discuss the future.
Where “Borrachinha” does draw the line is his weight for the fight with Chimaev. Clocking in at around 207 pounds, he said, on The MMA Hour set, he was leaner than usual and flexed for viewers to make his point.
“I cannot do 170,” Costa said. “You think I can make 170? 185 Is the deepest that I am capable of .
Costa gave Chimaev an opportunity to have a fight before UFC 279, when both fighters ran into one another at the UFC Performance Institute. Things could have turned physical if it weren’t for Chimaev and his teammates (and the cage between them),
Instead, Costa boasted, they planted a seed that resulted in Chimaev missing weight.
“For sure, [he missed weight because of me],” Costa said. “Because he became so angry, so stressed, and he almost – he gave up. He gave up. He missed the weight for almost eight pounds, almost nine.
” He gave up. I stole everything from him. Hype, soul, night of sleep, main event, his hat – do something.”
Costa displayed a defiled hat thought to be belonging to Chimaev during Monday’s interview.
UFC President Dana White stated that Chimaev was overweight and won quickly over Kevin Holland. He also said that Chimaev started the fight week lighter than in previous bouts. Chimaev’s coach, meanwhile, took responsibility for coming in heavier than usual and attributed the miss to the fighter’s long bout with COVID-19 complications.
Despite the miss, Chimaev made a huge splash as a fight-week villain for his unrepentant attitude about his issue on the scale and his lightning-quick submission of Holland. Costa wants that shine to rub off on him.
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