"While he hides...I'm hunting to eat" - Paulo Costa continues to chase Khamzat Chimaev fight
Many fans were left disappointed when Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev fell through at UFC 294, but the former UFC title challenger still appears to be chasing a fight against 'Borz'.
'Borrachinha' recently uploaded a picture of himself looking directly into the camera to his X (formerly Twitter) account. In the caption, Costa appeared to take a jibe at Chimaev by accusing him of dodging a fight:
"While he hides...I'm hunting to eat," wrote Paulo Costa.
Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev were scheduled to share the octagon at UFC 294. The event took place on October 21 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The trash talk between the two athletes on social media had created a lot of excitement among MMA fans to watch the encounter.
But unfortunately, 'Borrachinha' suffered an injury and had to pull out of the fight. As a result, former welterweight king Kamaru Usman stepped up as a short-notice replacement to go toe-to-toe with Chimaev.
The fight was a highly competitive affair that lasted all three rounds. In the end, Chimaev emerged victorious in the razor-close fight via majority decision. The three judges scored the bout 29-27, 29-27 and 28-28 in favor of 'Borz'.
Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev: Conor McGregor wants to see the fight re-booked
Irish superstar Conor McGregor has expressed his wish to see a showdown between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev.
In a now-deleted tweet, the Irishman opined that 'Borz' needed to win one more fight at middleweight to deserve a shot at UFC gold. 'The Notorious' then demanded for Chimaev vs. Costa to be re-booked for a later date:
"Ya know what, Chimaev may need to prove more for a 185lb title shot for me. He must beat a true 185er. Rebook Chimaev vs Costa."
Costa responded to McGregor's tweet by saying that he was ready to take on 'Borz' in December:
"Conor is right, put at least a legit Middleweight fighter. He fought nobody a MW. Only small 170 in short notice. Let’s go in December, I thinks is time enough don’t u think so?"
Many believed that the winner of Usman vs. Chimaev could possibly be next in line for a title shot. But it was recently announced that Sean Strickland will defend his title against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297.
So, it seems that 'Borz' will have to compete one more time in order to fight for the title. With that in mind, a fight against 'Borrachinha' could make sense for the 29-year-old.