Paulo Costa is back in the win column, and he’s not wasting a second. After a dominant showing at UFC 318 against Roman Kopylov, the Brazilian powerhouse has once again set his sights on longtime rival Khamzat Chimaev. But in a recent interview, Costa did something unexpected. Instead of keeping his strategy close to the chest, he shared it openly. The question now is, did he just hand Chimaev the playbook?

Brimming with confidence during his interview with Submission Radio, Costa shared how he plans to dismantle ‘Borz’ as he stated, “This is pretty easy. And I gonna break down this. I can see this clear in my mind right now, how it’s gonna happen.”

So, how will it happen? According to him, Chimaev will enter the fight full of tension, stressed, anxious, and angry. Once the bell rings, Costa predicts a quick takedown attempt as he shared, “Once the fight start, he will come, feint some punch that, and go on, and he gonna shoot instantly on my legs. So I gonna expend some time, defending his takedown.”

But ‘The Eraser’ plans to play defense, let ‘Borz’ waste energy, and then the tide will begin to shift. He continued, “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 didn’t put my back in the mat, in the canvas, in the floor. And he will be heavy, and slow.”

That’s when Paulo Costa plans to take over slowly. Front kicks, body shots, and then, “…until I see he want to give up. When I see that, I’m gonna start to hit his face and make he uglier than he is.”

Confidence is one thing, but it’s rare to hear a UFC fighter reveal this much before a potential fight. Let’s not forget the history. These two were scheduled to fight at UFC 294, but Costa pulled out due to injury. Before that, things nearly exploded at the UFC PI in 2022, when Chimaev reportedly confronted Costa over trash talk. The Brazilian didn’t hold back then, and he isn’t now.

By revealing everything, Paulo Costa may have given Chimaev the ultimate edge, the chance to rewrite the story before it even begins. But before that happens, how does he plan on securing the matchup against the Chechen juggernaut?

Khamzat Chimaev is in Paulo Costa’s crosshairs as ‘The Eraser’ plans on being front row at UFC 319

Paulo Costa has a plan, and it doesn’t involve waiting for a phone call. After snapping a two-fight skid with a strong win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318, Costa made it clear he’s not done talking about Khamzat Chimaev. Now, he wants to do the talking face-to-face.

At the post-fight press conference, Costa confirmed his next move. “Yes, I plan to do that. If the UFC allows me, I will be there in Chicago in a few weeks,” he said, referring to UFC 319, where Chimaev challenges Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight belt. Costa wants a front-row seat, and if the opportunity arises, maybe more.

“I was locked in, 100 percent focused on this fight,” he said of his prep for UFC 318. But now that the win is secured, the spotlight shifts to his next target, ‘Borz.’

And it’s not a one-sided obsession. After Costa’s fiery callout inside the Octagon, Chimaev fired back on X. He mocked the Brazilian’s accusations about DMing his wife, writing, “It was she who wrote me habibi,” with laughing emojis.

Yet, Paulo Costa didn’t bite. He dismissed the jab at the UFC 318 presser, brushing it off as a lie. So, while he may have handed Khamzat Chimaev the blueprint, he’s not backing down. With his eyes locked on UFC 319 and a front-row seat in Chicago, he’s making sure he stays in the conversation. Whether it’s mind games, motivation, or both, Costa’s next chapter seems set to collide with Chimaev’s.

But if ‘The Eraser’ really believes this fight is “pretty easy,” he’d better hope the Chechen mauler doesn’t rewrite the ending before they even touch gloves. Because in this story, the hunter could just as easily become the hunted!