Paulo Costa claims why UFC president Dana White isn't likely to book Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman

Paulo Costa weighed in on the possibility of UFC president Dana White booking a bout between Khamzat Chimaev and former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

Henry Cejudo posted a video to his Twitter account, where he and his team caught up with the former middleweight title challenger while they were training with Bellator featherweight champion Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire. During the conversation, Costa claimed that Chimaev vs. Usman seems unlikely to materialize despite the reports of the fight possibly being in the works:

"[The talks about Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman. Do you like that fight?] No, no. I don't believe in that."

Always good catching up with @BorrachinhaMMA who is in Natal training with the Pitbull Brothers 🇧🇷

Do you agree with Paulo that @KChimaev will never fight at 170 lbs again?!?

SECRET JUICE!!!! 🧃

Powered by @liftedtrucksaz 🛻

FULL INTERVIEW: youtu.be/Ysm0-W-Ptio https://t.co/vQY1giOChb

'Borrachinha' then explained why he thinks White would be against booking a fight between 'Borz' and 'The Nigerian Nightmare'. He mentioned that Chimaev's failed attempt to make 170 pounds for his scheduled bout with Nate Diaz at UFC 279 is a major factor in that decision:

"Chimaev cannot make 170 [pounds] anymore and Dana White doesn't like these kind of, you know, catchweight fights."

Costa makes a valid point as the UFC president has stated on numerous occassions that he tends to avoid booking catchweight fights because he views them as being meaningless for both fighters' respective divisions.

Paulo Costa explains why he hasn't fought since defeating Luke Rockhold

Despite the UFC's attempts at booking him in a fight against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa has remained inactive since his win over Luke Rockhold last August.

During the aforementioned video, the former middleweight title challenger explained why he hasn't returned to the octagon yet. He mentioned that he was in negotiations with the UFC regarding a new deal which stalled his return but he felt was important for his career:

"I was just in negotiation with the UFC trying to make some decisions that should be very important, very special for my career. So, that's why we couldn't schedule a fight before. I try, I've tried hard."

Paulo Costa is scheduled to return to the octagon at UFC 291, where he will fight Ikram Aliskerov. The event is set to take place on July 29 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, which was the sight of the Brazilian's most recent win over Rockhold.

🔥Paulo Costa will take on Ikram Aliskerov at #UFC291 on July 29th.
[per Dana White]
#UFC291 #UFC #MMA https://t.co/YlR26y24qd