"Easy to be tough when u got 10 guys with u" - Fans react to footage of altercation between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa
Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa recently had a seemingly heated altercation at the UFC Performance Institute (UPI) in Las Vegas. Chimaev challenged 'Borrachinha' to fight him on the spot while mocking the Brazilian for his loss to Israel Adesanya.
While 'Borz' can be seen being held back by his entire team, Costa appears to be a cool customer and doesn't mince his words while saying:
"You want to fight me? I want to fight you."
The situation did not escalate any further though and ended with Chimaev walking away with his teammates.
Check out the full clip below:
Based on the social media reactions, it looks like the majority of fans seem to have sided with Paulo Costa on this one. Some opined that 'Borz' only dared trash talk the Brazilian because his entire team was behind him. @Traypeats commented:
"Easy to be tough when u got 10 guys with u, if he was there alone, costa woulda wrecked him."
Others lauded Costa for maintaining his cool while Chimaev appeared to have "big hold me back energy." @bubster johnson commented:
"Honestly this makes Paulo look better lol he was just chilling while Khamzat had big hold me back energy"
Jake Shields details altercation between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa
Former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields was engaged in a grappling session with Paulo Costa when they were interrupted by Khamzat Chimaev at the UPI. Shields claimed that 'Borz' was the aggravator and started swearing at Costa whist he had 10 people with him.
Shields then went to Paulo Costa's aid, unsure if Chimaev's entourage planned to jump the Brazilian. However, judging by the way things panned out, Shields concluded that the whole thing was more of an act from 'Borz'. The 43-year-old told MMA Junkie Radio:
“So we run over and start talking sh*t and Khamzat keeps going, ‘Let’s fight now, let’s fight now,' but as he’s saying that he’s walking down the stairs. It seemed like it was kind of more of an act for the cameras than anything. I guess someone said afterward that he was scoping us out for 10 minutes. If he wanted to fight Paulo, he would’ve run in there and started swinging on him, not stood outside the cage and say, ‘Let’s fight right now. Let’s fight right now.’"
Shields is a longtime teammate of Nate Diaz, who faces Khamzat Chimaev next Saturday at UFC 279.
Do check out this special video on Nate Diaz: