Paulo Costa says fans should stop expecting a long-discussed grudge match with Khamzat Chimaev, declaring he no longer believes the bout will ever happen.
Costa, who recently snapped his slump with consecutive wins over Azamat Murzakanov and Roman Kopylov, addressed the matchup directly while mapping out his next move after Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC middleweight title loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 328.
“I know many of you guys want to have me facing ‘Gourmet Chenchen Chimaev’ a.k.a. ‘Gourmet Chen Chen’ next,” Costa said, before shutting the idea down. “I don’t think this is going to happen. Why? Because he’s broke. I think he’s done. I don’t think he’ll be back. And even if he can regrow and be back, this will not be this year. So let’s move on. This will not be this year. So let’s move on, I have a bunch of fights, great fights, great matches to do.”
Costa made it clear he wants a quick turnaround and is eyeing the coming months. “I want to fight as soon as possible. I think August is an amazing date, even July. So let’s move on. I can fight middleweight, light heavyweight, even heavyweight, OK. We have a great host and let’s move.”
Looking ahead, Costa floated multiple options across divisions, saying, “I would bring three names for you guys: Hokit, heavyweight. Strickland, middleweight. And Mike Perry.”
