The grudge match between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa will finally materialize at UFC 294. UFC 294 is set to take place on October 21, 2023, at Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Costa and Chimaev established a war between them long ago and the two never miss a chance to mock each other in front of the MMA community. Now, the two rivals finally have a chance to take revenge on each other at their showdown at UFC 294. According to Costa, the UFC wanted their fight to take place in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of the year. However, Costa strongly believed that ‘Borz’ tried hard not to fight him.

In a recent interview, the Brazilian fighter stated that Chimaev went on to call out other UFC fighters just to avoid fighting Costa. ‘Borrachinha’ admitted that he wanted the fight to come to fruition so badly, and the UFC president Dana White also wanted the same. He believes that a showdown between him and Chimaev is what even the fans are eagerly looking forward to. However, Costa believed that Chimaev was the only one who was not interested in the bout. ‘Borrachinha’ claims that Chimaev tried to go against the wishes of White and made some crooked plans. 

Khamzat Chimaev had something else in mind

Recently, Paulo Costa sat down with MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani. During the conversation between the two, the Brazilian fighter mentioned Chimaev’s attitude towards their fight. ‘Borrachinha’ said, “You know what’s interesting, because I want that fight so bad — a lot, I want a lot that fight. Dana [White] wants a lot that fight. The audience wants that fight. But not Chimaev. Chimaev doesn’t want that fight, so he tried hard to get another guy to fight. Leon Edwards, Belal Muhammad, [Kamaru] Usman, he called all these guys.“

Costa further added that Chimaev committed a puzzling act by trying to call out other UFC fighters while also challenging the Brazilian.

During the same interview, the Brazilian fighter added that Chimaev was never planning to fight at 170 pounds. Instead, he wanted to fight at 185 lbs so the Swedish fighter tried hard to pull some lighter fighters to fight him at 185 lbs. This enables him to avoid fighting a real middleweight fighter.

Nevertheless, Khamzat Chimaev made a strange vow in regards to the Costa fight.

 The bizarre promise of ‘Borz’

Contrary to Paulo Costa’s belief, Chimaev stated that he feels good about his upcoming fight against the Brazilian fighter. Khamzat Chimaev talked to TNT Sports backstage of UFC Fight Night 224, and during the interview, he made a bizarre promise. ‘Borz’ promised that he would make Costa cry in the octagon.

READ MORE: “Costa Is the First Fighter to Bully Khamzat”: Fans Foresee a “Certified Classic” Fight as Paulo Costa Sends Out a Hilarious Threat to Khamzat Chimaev Ahead of Their Fight at UFC 294

He further added that making his opponents cry is what he always does, and it won’t be any different this time. The Swedish fighter believed that fighters were scared of him and chose to avoid him as an opponent inside the cage. What do you think about the statements of Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev? Let us know in the comments below.

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