"Rat lip" - When Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa had polarizing takes on Khamzat Chimaev's confidence
Paulo Costa and former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya's past comments about Khamzat Chimaev have resurfaced online.
A Twitter user named @Sa_Gwang uploaded a video that showed back-to-back clips of 'The Last Stylebender' and Costa commenting on Chimaev's confidence.
In the video, Adesanya shared that he hadn't seen 'Borz' in action yet and also implied that the 29-year-old's confidence might be coming from fighting low-level competition:
"Idon't even know the guy [Chimaev]. I haven't seen his fights yet... He's just casting his net. I haven't actually seen hm fight yet. [To Tim Simpson] Have you seen him fight? The rat lip? Tim said he might have fought just some low level of competition so far. So, he thinks I'm an easy fight. That's interesting."
Costa, on the other hand, commended Chimaev for his confidence and shared words of encouragement for him. The remarks are a far cry from the feud he currently shares with the Chechen-born star:
"I appreciate his confidence,you know, I think this is important. I can appreciate guy like him, like Conor McGregor who has this confidence. I'm confident also. So, it's good for him. Good work, Chimaev. Keep doing the very good work but don't cross my way."
Check out Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa's comments on Khamzat Chimaev below:
Adesanya, Costa and Chimaev all currently compete in the promotion's 185-pound division. Considering that 'Borz' is currently undefeated as a fighter and is climbing up the middleweight rankings, a clash against the Brazilian or Adesanya could possibly become a reality in the near future.
When were Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev last seen in action?
Israel Adesanya's last fight took place at UFC 293, when he locked horns against Sean Strickland for the middleweight title. The event took place on September 10 and was held at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
'The Last Stylebender' came up short night as he was outclassed by Strickland for the majority of the 25-minute fight. In the end, the New Zealander lost the contest via unanimous decision, with 'Tarzan' securing 49-46 scores across all three judges' scorecards.
Khamzat Chimaev's last outing, meanwhile, was a middleweight scrap against former welterweight king Kamaru Usman at UFC 294.
The October fight was a highly competititve affair that ended with 'Borz' edging out a majority decision victory. The three judges scored the contest 29-27, 29-27 and 28-28 in favor of the 29-year-old.