Paulo Costa eyes showdown with ‘Chechen fraud’ Khamzat Chimaev after his Robert Whittaker bout

Paulo Costa, the former middleweight title challenger, has not fought since his ‘Fight of the Night’ winning performance against Luke Rockhold at UFC 278. The Brazilian was scheduled to fight the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event of UFC 294 but pulled himself out of the fight due to a staph infection.

Kamaru Usman replaced Costa on 10-day notice to face Chimaev but was unsuccessful as the Chechen fighter won the fight by majority decision. Even though Costa has an opponent lined up in the former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, he still wants the fight with the undefeated Chimaev.

Paulo Costa claims Khamzat Chimaev is hiding from him

Khamzat Chimaev recently underwent surgery and is in rehabilitation process. Dana White already promised a shot at the middleweight title for the winner of Khamzat vs. Usman. However, the middleweight title will be on the line at UFC 297 when champion Sean Strickland faces off with number 2-ranked Dricus Du Plessis. The duo had an altercation at UFC 296. The victor of the bout is most likely to get Chimaev next as the challenger.

Costa and Chimaev have a long-standing rivalry due to their interaction on social media which resulted in a confrontation at the fight week of UFC 279. Costa was heavily criticized by Chimaev at the press conference of UFC 294. Interestingly, Costa had an altercation at UFC 294 with one of the spectators, presumably a Chimaev fan.

“Gourmet chenchen fraud still hidden. I gonna fight Whittaker feb 17 and also April ufc 300 and while this bum 🧁trying get some muscles 😂🫵” Costa tweeted on X about his plans for UFC 298 and UFC 300, while accusing the Chechen middleweight of ducking him. Interestingly, Chimaev has also accused Costa of ducking him, citing his withdrawal from their scheduled fight.

When is Paulo Costa fighting Robert Whittaker?

Paulo Costa’s upcoming opponent is the former middleweight UFC champion, Robert Whittaker. The two flirted with the idea of fighting recently on X, formerly Twitter, and the fight was ultimately announced by the UFC CEO on his social media.

Whittaker and Costa are scheduled to fight at UFC 298 on February 17, 2024, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States. The PPV event is headlined by a featherweight title clash between long-reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski and the undefeated Ilia Topuria.

Whittaker is coming off a loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290. Before the loss to the South African middleweight fighter, Whittaker had only lost to former long-reigning champion, Israel Adesanya. Costa plans to defeat Whittaker at UFC 298 and fight Khamzat as soon as possible, presumably at UFC 300.

Chimaev recently announced his interest in fighting at UFC 300 and with Costa also wanting to do the same, the timing will be perfect for the bitter rivals to lock horns inside the octagon. With Strickland as the champion, the division is wide open and both Costa and Chimaev have a chance to contend for the title after Du Plessis.

 Will we see a Paulo Costa vs Khamzat Chimaev showdown in UFC 300? Leave your prediction below!