Paulo Costa Revives Rivalry with Khamzat Chimaev
Paulo Costa has never been one to let a grudge die quietly. Now he’s breathing life back into one of his oldest: Khamzat Chimaev.
The Brazilian powerhouse, once written off as a fading force after his title defeat to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253, has rebuilt himself piece by piece. That loss – the first of his professional career – sent him into a spiral. The aura of the unbeaten contender vanished, replaced by a painful run of four defeats in five fights. The lone bright spot came against a retiring Luke Rockhold, a win that did little to silence doubts about where his career was heading.
So Costa stepped away. A full year out of the cage. No half measures, no rushed turnarounds. Just time to figure out whether he still belonged among the elite.
When he came back, the answer was emphatic.
Costa returned looking sharper, leaner, and far more calculated. He put together a composed win over Roman Kopylov, the kind of performance that suggested control rather than chaos. Then came the statement: a brutal head-kick knockout of previously unbeaten Azamat Murzakanov in his true light heavyweight debut. One kick, one defining moment. Suddenly, the man who had once been a cautionary tale of squandered potential looked like a threat again.
He hasn’t fought since that April breakthrough, but he hasn’t been idle either. His crosshairs are locked firmly on one name.
Khamzat Chimaev
The rivalry between the two has simmered for years, occasionally flaring up in interviews and social media skirmishes, then cooling without resolution. Costa has now turned the heat back up, and he’s doing it by questioning the wisdom of Chimaev’s rumored jump to 205 pounds.
"I think that would be great for me," Costa told Mr. Gamble. The implication was clear: Chimaev at light heavyweight is a matchup he welcomes, not fears. But when it comes to what that move would mean for the Chechen-born star himself, Costa’s tone shifted. "It would be wonderful for him? I don't think it would be very good, no."
That’s where the gamesmanship kicks in. Costa isn’t just calling him out; he’s framing the entire potential move as a mistake.
To drive the point home, he drew a comparison that every fight fan understands instantly. He likened Chimaev’s possible rise to 205 to Alex Pereira’s unsuccessful experiment at heavyweight.
"I think for him it would be like Alex moving up to heavyweight, you know? I think the proportion is something similar, isn't it? The body type. I don't know. I think they're very light."
In other words, Costa sees Chimaev as a man built for the lower divisions, not for trading power with the monsters at light heavyweight. Coming from a fighter who has now proven he can carry his own menace at 205, the message carries weight: this is my territory, and you’re too small to survive here.
For Costa, the timing is perfect. He’s riding the momentum of a career-reviving knockout, he’s finally found a division that seems to suit his frame and power, and he’s hunting a high-profile name that still polarizes the sport. For Chimaev, whose future weight class has been a constant topic of speculation, the challenge is now out in the open.
If he moves up, Costa is waiting. If he stays put, the Brazilian’s words will hang over any talk of his ambitions at 205.
The feud is no longer dormant. It’s awake, snarling, and pointed at a division where one wrong move can change a career in a single night.
