Khamzat Chimaev isn’t happy about Paulo Costa pulling out of their highly anticipated middleweight contest and recently expressed his frustrations when Dana White tried to defend the Brazilian.
After months of going back and forth on social media, Chimaev and Costa were scheduled to settle their differences at UFC 294 this weekend in Abu Dhabi.
While fans eagerly looked forward to their grudge match, Costa was forced to undergo staph infection surgery on his elbow earlier this month and had to pull out of the fight. He ended up needing three surgeries to fix his elbow.
While Kamaru Usman stepped in on short notice to replace the Brazilian, Khazmat Chimaev is still sore about not getting the opportunity to fight ‘Borrachinha’ in the cage.
At a recent pre-fight press conference, reporters asked UFC CEO Dana White about Costa’s injuries. White stated:
“I know it’s not a popular answer for him [Khamzat] right now… Paulo Costa can be a pain in the ass, no doubt about it, but he’s seriously injured. He’s seriously injured and needs to get his elbow taken care of.”
As White explained to a booing crowd that Paulo Costa was legitimately injured, Khamzat Chimaev promptly interrupted White and said:
“Don’t ask questions about that s***. The guy went home. He s*** himself… You’re hiding him in hotels from me.”
Khamzat Chimaev believes Kamaru Usman accepted short notice fight for purely financial reasons
Khamzat Chimaev recently weighed in on his fight against Kamaru Usman and claimed the former welterweight champion only took the fight to secure a big payday. The Russian also pointed out that many fighters saw him as a big-money fight, and that he’s more than happy to oblige them.
As mentioned, Usman replaced Paulo Costa on short notice and will be making a move up to middleweight to face Chimaev. Given Usman’s historic run in the 170-pound division, many believe he’s a tougher challenge for Chimaev than Costa.
At a recent UFC 294 media day event, Khamzat Chimaev was asked for his thoughts on facing Kamaru Usman and if he ever expected to face the former welterweight king. He replied:
“The guy comes just to make money. It’s a lot of money put on that. I think he gets a lot of good money when somebody fights me. It’s different-level money. That’s why he’s here… Of course, because since day one I get to the UFC, everyone spoke about Khamzat-Usman, Khamzat-Usman… Usman is a fighter like me, but he’s the old version, I’m new, different.”
Catch Chimaev’s comments below (3:11):