"Costa popping for PED’s and Khamzat missing weight" - Hilarious responses pour in as Dan Hardy asks fans to predict potential Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev clash
Khamzat Chimaev was involved in a series of controversial incidents during UFC 279 fight week. He was involved in scuffles with Kevin Holland and Nate Diaz before missing weight by a walloping margin.
Chimaev was also involved in an altercation with Paulo Costa at the UFC Performance Institute, leading many to believe the two could meet in the octagon in the future.
Khamzat Chimaev flipped off the crowd after being showered with boos 🗣 #UFC279 https://t.co/kbldRiwk6z
Khamzat Chimaev's brawl with Kevin Holland and Nate Diaz also led to the cancelation of the UFC 279 press conference.
Chimaev then missed weight by 7.5 pounds, leading to his main event matchup against Diaz being canceled. Following a reshuffling of the card, he ended up facing and defeating Holland, but couldn't avoid controversy as he compared himself to legendary boxer Muhammad Ali following the fight.
MMA analyst Dan Hardy took to Twitter the morning following UFC 279 to ask fans for early predictions of a potential matchup between Costa and Chimaev.
Early predictions for Khamzat v Costa?
#UFC279
Some fans chose to make jokes at the fighters' expenses due to their recent transgressions:
@danhardymma Costa popping for PED’s and Khamzat missing weight, killing everybody.
@danhardymma Someone misses weight
Others chose to pick interesting methods for a potential finish, although on opposing ends:
@danhardymma Costa by Bludgeoning
@danhardymma Khamzat via rag doll
Give us Covington instead
@danhardymma Khamzat Smesh
@danhardymma Costa by teabag
Others agreed that the fight would end via submission:
@danhardymma Costa by submission
@danhardymma Khamzat sub in the first but I don't think he's done at welterweight. If so that was convenient timing all the way around for everyone involved except Khamzat...
Finally, some fans noted that the fight could go either way:
@danhardymma If @BorrachinhaMMA is focused, dedicated, hungry to seek and destroy, similar to how he performed against Rockhold and Romero, then Paulo.
If not, the Chimaev.
In the game of brawn, I'll take Paulo all day, every day. Add a sprinkle of tactical gameplanning, he levels up.
@danhardymma It could go either way imo. Depends on Costa and his ability to stuff Khamzats TDs.
It's a toss up for me.
@danhardymma It all depends on whether we have Mario Yamasaki or Steve Mazzagatti reffing the match
A potential matchup between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev makes a lot of sense for the UFC. Their weight difference is a problem but Dana White has hinted that Khamzat might move up to middleweight. Both fighters have seen their star power grow in recent years and the pair could potentially headline a fight card.
Will Khamzat Chimaev move up to middleweight?
With Khamzat Chimaev missing weight by 7.5 pounds, he didn't face Nate Diaz in the UFC 279 main event as originally planned. Instead, he took on Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout. Chimaev even recently hinted at a move back to middleweight.
https://t.co/96JT26ixUV
In addition to his success at welterweight, Khamzat has also thrived in four middleweight fights.
He has won all four and produced four finishes. In total, he is 12-0 in his mixed martial arts career with 11 finishes.
Former double champ and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier predicted years ago that Chimaev would win the middleweight belt. Even though 'DC's prophecy hasn't yet come true, we have a feeling that it shortly would after what Chimaev did to Holland this weekend.
Daniel Cormier has extremely high expectations for Khamzat Chimaev 🏆🏆 (via @dc_mma) https://t.co/RAXvFqluzk