Khamzat Chimaev responds to Paulo Costa’s accusations.
UFC 319: Khamzat Chimaev open workout interview
Khamzat Chimaev talks to MMA Junkie and reporters at his UFC 319 open workout ahead of his middleweight title fight vs. Dricus Du Plessis.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Khamzat Chimaev has finally given his side of the story of the accusations fellow UFC middleweight Paulo Costa made against him.
Last month, in the lead-up to UFC 319, Costa claimed that Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) privately made contact with his wife on Instagram and sent her “nasty” messages. Costa didn’t specify what was said exactly, but it was enough to get him fuming, calling for a fight against Chimaev both before and after his decision win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318. Since that July 19 pay-per-view, Chimaev didn’t fully address those accusations until now.
Speaking to MMA Junkie and other media, Chimaev denies ever reaching out to Costa’s wife, he says it was quite the opposite.
“Why should I DM somebody’s wife?,” Chimaev said. “She DM before the fight like when I announced the fight like, ‘Khamzat, please don’t take it seriously. We’re just trying to make money and hype.’ I don’t care what they are, just going to f*ck your boy up, and that’s it. And then he takes it all personally and stuff. I don’t care.”
Chimaev is set to challenge champion Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 319 – which takes place on Aug. 16 in Chicago. The Chechen fighter is soley focused on winning UFC gold, but made it clear he wouldn’t mind an eventual fight with Costa. He just doesn’t see it as a likely possibility.
“Bro, I beat the guys who beat him,” Chimaev said. “Maybe in the future if he wins a couple of fights, but I don’t think he will do that. In the last five years, he’s only won one fight.”
