Latest news with #Chimaev
USA Today
4 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Paulo Costa confident he has way to beat 'anxious' Khamzat Chimaev: 'This is pretty easy'
Paulo Costa won't let go of his beef with Khamzat Chimaev. Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) is irate at Chimaev for allegedly sending his girlfriend "nasty" DMs, and is dead set on fighting him after their UFC 294 booking fell through. The former title challenger returned to the win column with a unanimous decision win over Roman Kopylov this past Saturday at UFC 318. Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) challenges middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis Aug. 16 in the UFC 319 headliner from Chicago. Win or lose, Costa wants a piece of Chimaev, and is confident he has the blueprint to take out the undefeated phenom. "This is pretty easy, and I'm going to break down this, OK?," Costa told Submission Radio. "I can see this very clear in my mind right now, how it's going to happen. He'll be very stressful, anxious, and anger against me. Once the fight start, he will come, faint some punches, and then he going to shoot on my legs. So, I'm going to spend some time defending his takedown, he's going to try to push, push, push, and I think after one minute, maybe one and a half, he will be exhausted. "His arms and shoulders will be heavy. Heavy like a heavyweight. Then he will realize he don't put my back on the mat, and he will be heavy and slow Maybe I'm not going to finish him in the very first round. I'm going to let him gas out everything that he had until he be like a dead man walking in the second round. Then I'm going to hit his belly as much as I can with front kicks, with body shots until I see he wants to give up. When I see that, I'm going to start to hit his face and make him uglier than he is." Leading up to his fight with Kopylov, Costa couldn't contain his emotions when asked about Chimaev during his media obligations. He sent a stern message to "Borz." "I'm coming for you, you know that," Costa concluded. "I will not lie to anyone. I don't need that. You know who I am, and I know who the f*ck c*nt you are. I'm coming for you."
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Chimaev tipped as early favourite to take UFC title from Du Plessis
Du Plessis has won 11 fights in succession, but Chimaev remains unbeaten in 14 professional bouts. Mixed martial arts fighter Dricus du Plessis will have lots of support from fans back home and across the world in his next title defence, but he will have to be at his best against an undefeated opponent who has been tipped as the early favourite. Du Plessis and Russia-born fighter Khamzat Chimaev of the UAE will meet in the cage for the first time at UFC 319, to be held in Chicago on 17 August. And the South African will be confident of retaining his middleweight belt as he looks to expand on his winning streak of 11 fights and an impressive career record which includes 21 wins and just two defeats from his 23 professional bouts. Third title defence Du Plessis first won the UFC middleweight title in January last year, against Sean Strickland, and he has since successfully defended his title against Israel Adesanya and Strickland. However, Chimaev won't be a pushover and he enters the fight with a real chance to take the belt against the more experienced champion. Ranked third in the middleweight division, Chimaev has won all 14 of his professional contests, ending nine of those fights in the first round. Khamzat Chimaev will face Dricus du Plessis next month. Picture: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP Odds on the challenger Early odds favour the challenger, with Betway offering 1.47 for Chimaev to win, though Du Plessis is also given a decent chance at 2.38, and he will be eager to prove once again that he deserves to wear the middleweight belt. There are also 10 other fights on the UFC 319 card which give punters additional options to make some cash. These Betway odds are correct at time of publishing and are subject to change.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Luke Rockhold breaks down Dricus Du Plessis vs. 'f*cking beast' Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319
After training with both Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, Luke Rockhold shared some insight on the UFC 319 headliner. Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) will look to notch his third title defense when he takes on Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) Aug. 16 at United Center in Chicago (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). Former UFC middleweight champion Rockhold grappled with Chimaev before, and hit the mats with Du Plessis as well. "He's a f*cking beast," Rockhold told Submission Radio of Chimaev. "He's a wrestler, he's a grappler, he's going to get relentless pressure. He's going to start fast and hard. Can Dricus take that the first two rounds? That's what life's about for his opponents. Can he withstand the barrage? Because he's going to bring it." Many pundits and fighters thinks if Du Plessis can weather an early storm, it'll go downhill for Chimaev – and Rockhold agrees. "I don't like those opportunities for him," Rockhold said of Chimaev. "I've trained with DDP a lot. He's tough. He ain't going to go away. You've got to dominate him from start to finish, or you've got to finish him early. I just don't see how Khamzat's going to keep that pressure. His intensity, you can only keep that for so long. "That's not five-round material. DDP is tough. He's tough as f*cking hell. People don't give him a lot of credit. He's just awkward, he's got weird timing and rhythm and he's good. He mixes it up. He's very confident. He's got good grappling, decent wrestling and some funky-ass striking, but it f*cking works."
Pink Villa
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
'You should look for a better man,' Paulo Costa claims Khamzat Chimaev messaged 'dirty things' to his girlfriend
In a fiery media day appearance ahead of UFC 318, Paulo Costa shocked reporters and fans by accusing Khamzat Chimaev of privately messaging his girlfriend on Instagram with what he described as 'very bad' and 'cowardly' remarks. The former title contender didn't hold back, saying the feud is now personal and that he wants to 'hurt' Chimaev inside the octagon—win or lose. Costa faces Roman Kopylov in the UFC 318 co-main event on July 19, but his mind is clearly occupied by unfinished business with Chimaev. 'He crossed the line': Costa makes it personal Speaking to the press in New Orleans, Costa revealed that Chimaev had sent inappropriate DMs to his girlfriend, which included lines like 'you should look for a better man.' The Brazilian said this was not just trash talk—it was disrespectful and deliberate, calling his statements 'dirty things.' 'I feel angry just to hear his name,' Costa said, as reported by MMA Fighting. 'Why he message her? Why he didn't message me instead of her? Coward. He is a coward.' He confirmed that no matter the outcome of Chimaev's upcoming title shot at UFC 319, a fight between them must happen—unless, as Costa put it, 'he retires.' This isn't the first time the two have been linked. They were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 294, but Costa withdrew due to an elbow infection. Chimaev responds with mockery Khamzat Chimaev didn't remain silent for long. In a short but sharp social media post, he mocked Costa's emotional reaction from the media day. Replying to a X/Twitter post with a snippet of Costa shaking and wiping his eyes, Chimaev wrote, 'Bro, what's going on with you? Don't start to cry please.' That jab has quickly spread, with fans wondering is Costa was 'shaking just talking about you,' and 'very nervous.' The speculation around the real story behind the DMs also still continues. UFC Future: Business or vendetta? Costa made it clear that he won't let this issue go. While he emphasized that his immediate focus is on defeating Kopylov at UFC 318, he vowed to call out Chimaev immediately after. 'We have a mutual hate,' he told reporters. 'Unfinished business.' With Chimaev set to challenge Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319, Costa knows his window may be narrow—but he's banking on a win and a callout loud enough to reignite the fight that never happened. Fans now wait to see if Costa can deliver in the cage before chasing the man who, in his words, 'crossed the line.'
USA Today
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Paulo Costa wants to hurt 'coward' Khamzat Chimaev for sending girlfriend 'nasty' DMs
Things are getting personal between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev. NEW ORLEANS – Things between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev seem to be getting worse. The two UFC middleweights have been feuding for many years, taking shots at each other online, but it looks like things have now escalated. According to Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), things have now taken a personal turn, as Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) allegedly slid into Costa's girlfriend's direct messages on Instagram to talk bad about the Brazilian. This was a step too far for Costa, and he now wants to fight Chimaev more than anyone in the UFC. "I want to fight him very badly," Costa said at the UFC 318 media day. "I want to hurt him. It doesn't matter if he won the fight or not; it doesn't matter. We need to fight. He talked very bad things about me to my girl on Instagram DM's. This is totally personal. I feel angry just to hear his name, so we need to fight. ... I'm going to do my best Saturday, if God gives me the victory because he controls everything, but I'm pretty sure I'll get the victory and I'll call his name. It doesn't matter if he wins or not. This fight will only not happen if he retires." Costa returns to the cage this Saturday against Roman Kopylov (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC 318 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at Smoothie King Center. He plans on calling out Chimaev, should he get his hand raised. Chimaev is currently scheduled to challenge UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis next month in the main event of UFC 319. "Borrachinha" didn't reveal the exact content of the messages Chimaev sent to his girlfriend, but he did give a hint of the sentiment. "Dirty things," Costa said. "Like, 'You should look for a better man.' Something like that, you know. Dirty things, dirty things. These are not things a real man, a confident man, ought to do. Why he messaged her? Why he didn't message me? Coward. He is a coward." Costa can't say Chimaev won't be champion, but he's also not too sure he can overwhelm Du Plessis the way Chimaev has with previous opponents. "It's hard to predict something, but I feel Dricus is more solid," Costa said. "He can resist the very first rush from Chimaev, and then we never know after the third round how Chimaev can maintain his energy after the third round, so I think this is my question."
