Khamzat Chimaev’s bitter enemy warns he could ‘kill’ MMA if he fights like he did at UFC 319 again

Paulo Costa slams Khamzat Chimaev’s ‘business-killing’ UFC 319 win

The words Chimaev and “boring” have not come hand in hand at all since the 31-year-old arrived in the UFC. The undefeated phenom has consistently torn through his opposition, most recently when Chimaev violently submitted Robert Whittaker in one round to secure his title shot.

But UFC 319 was a different story, as ‘Borz’ racked up over 21 minutes of control time while rarely pushing for a finish during the five-round headliner at United Center.

Chimaev’s strategy against Du Plessis has been criticized by some, but not many have gone as far the champ’s longtime enemy, Paulo Costa, with their reactions.

During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the Brazilian boldly claimed that Chimaev could “kill” MMA if he repeats the manner in which he won on August 16.

“This is a show. This is entertainment,” Costa said. “This kind of fight, and fighter, has a lot of potential to kill this business.

“This surprised me after, because at the press conference after the fight, Dana (White) was (saying), ‘OK, he did amazing.’ No, he didn’t, man.

“He did horrible. This is horrible for the watchers,” Costa continued. “This is not good. People will watch something else. They will not watch these guys hugging each other for 25 minutes.”

Paulo Costa knows how to ‘handle’ Khamzat Chimaev

Should he earn an opportunity at the newly crowned champion down the line, ‘Borrachinha’ insists he will offer much more resistance than Du Plessis did in Chicago.

Costa doesn’t think Chimaev can hold him down, a prediction that the Brazilian fighter backed up by referencing his successful anti-wrestling display against Yoel Romero back in 2019.

“He dominated Dricus, but he could not do the same thing that he used to do against welterweights,” Costa told Helwani. “Like, maul the guys, finish the guys.

“When he faces a real middleweight, a really heavy middleweight, he’s going to have some problems.

“I know how to handle these guys,” Costa continued. “Remember my fight against Romero? Romero is a high-level wrestler and very good also. He couldn’t put me down. He tried like four or five times.

“When I fight Khamzat, the same gonna happen. He could not hold me down. Even if he took me down. I don’t think I’m gonna stay on my feet the whole time against him. I think he can put me down, but he will not keep me there.”