Paulo Costa has given up on ever sharing the octagon with rival Khamzat Chimaev.
The middleweight stars have been in an ongoing feud for several years, frequently lobbing insults at each other despite never being booked to fight one another. Chimaev put together an impressive unbeaten run to become UFC champion, while Costa was mired in a slump that he only recently broke out of with back-to-back wins over Azamat Murzakanov and Roman Kopylov.
With Chimaev having lost the middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 328, it’s possible the timing could finally work out for Costa and Chimaev to settle their beef, but Costa doesn’t expect Chimaev to bounce back from his disappointing defeat anytime soon.
“I know many of you guys want to have me facing ‘Gourmet Chenchen Chimaev’ a.k.a. ‘Gourmet Chen Chen’ next,” Costa said in an Instagram video. “I don’t think this is going to happen. Why? Because he’s broke. I think he’s done. I don’t think he’ll be back. And even if he can regrow and be back, this will not be this year. So let’s move on. This will not be this year. So let’s move on, I have a bunch of fights, great fights, great matches to do.
“I want to fight as soon as possible. I think August is an amazing date, even July. So let’s move on. I can fight middleweight, light heavyweight, even heavyweight, OK. We have a great host and let’s move.”
Costa has reason to be skeptical. When Chimaev debuted in 2020, he broke the UFC record for the fastest turnaround between wins in his first two outings and then scored a 17-second knockout of Gerald Meerschaert to cap off one of a breakthrough campaign. Unfortunately for Chimaev fans, he has competed sporadically since then, logging just seven fights in six years and competing just once in 2023, 2024, 2025 (and, so far, 2026).
Chimaev had a brutal bout of COVID-19 in 2021 and struggled with lingering health complications well after the disease had passed. That’s one explanation for Chimaev’s inactivity, though he has also dealt with visa and weight-cutting issues. Until Chimaev can be counted on to show up on fight night more consistently, Costa is moving on, with his sights set on a Strickland title fight, a grudge match with undefeated heavyweight Josh Hokit, or BKFC king Mike Perry.
“I’m excited to see you guys again as soon as possible and so stop talking about Gourmet Chen Chen, OK?” Costa said. “You know I wish to do that fight before he lost, but mental strength is not one of his qualities, so he has a lot of problems to solve before [being] back. So that’s it, let’s move the page and let’s move on.
“I would bring three names for you guys: Hokit, heavyweight. Strickland, middleweight. And Mike Perry.”
Watch Costa’s clip below.
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