Paulo Costa is aiming for a crucial win this Saturday at UFC 318 in New Orleans, where he will face Roman Kopylov in the co-main event. With his career stalled by a 1-4 losing streak, Costa’s motivation is clear: secure a victory and set up a showdown with Khamzat Chimaev while keeping his name in the conversation.
Costa openly expressed his desire to fight Chimaev at the UFC 318 media day, revealing personal reasons behind the rivalry.
I want to fight [Chimaev] very badly,
Costa said.
I want to hurt him. It doesn’t matter if he won that fight or not. It doesn’t matter. We need to fight. He talk very bad things about me, in my girl’s Instagram DMs, so this is totally personal.
Personal Issues Fueling Intense Rivalry
The tension between Costa and Chimaev escalates beyond professional competition, centered on alleged disrespectful messages sent by Chimaev to Costa’s girlfriend via Instagram. Costa described the messages as provocative and cowardly, intensifying his anger.
Like, ‘You should look for a better man,’ something like that. Not the kind of things a real man, confident man would do. Why he message her? Why he didn’t message me instead of her? Coward. He is a coward.
Costa confirmed that his focus remains on winning Saturday’s fight but intends to call out Chimaev regardless of the latter’s upcoming bout status.
I feel angry just to hear his name, so we need to fight. We are young, we’re going to be on line, so I’m going to do my best Saturday. … I’m pretty sure I’m going to get the victory and I’m going to call his name, it doesn’t matter whether he wins or not. This fight just will not happen if he retires.
Upcoming Matches and Career Context
Khamzat Chimaev is scheduled to fight middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in the main event at UFC 319 in Chicago on August 16. Chimaev remains undefeated in his UFC career, with eight victories in the promotion and 14 wins overall, making the title fight a significant milestone. A planned bout between Costa and Chimaev for UFC 294 was canceled due to Costa’s elbow infection, prolonging the buildup to their confrontation.
Costa faces a tough adversary in Roman Kopylov, who comes off consecutive wins and has claimed six victories in his last seven matches. Despite his fanbase, Costa’s recent performance indicates a steady decline, having earned only one knockout since 2018 and just one win since 2019.
Costa’s Take on the Future of the Middleweight Title Fight
Though Costa refrained from predicting the outcome of the UFC 319 main event, he shared doubts about Chimaev’s ability to sustain his energy throughout the fight should it last beyond the early rounds.
It’s hard to predict something, but I think Dricus is more solid,
Costa said.
He can resist the very first rush from Chimaev, ‘Gourmet Chen Chen,’ and then we never know after the third round how Chimaev can maintain, sustain his energy. I think this is my question.
The ongoing personal issues and intense rivalry between Costa and Chimaev add emotional weight to their potential matchup, amplifying its significance for UFC fans. Costa’s performance against Kopylov will be a pivotal step toward making this eagerly anticipated fight a reality. How he rebounds from his recent slump and whether Chimaev chooses to engage will shape the middleweight division’s landscape going forward.