Khamzat Chimaev’s one-sided victory over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 on August 16, 2025, made him the new middleweight champion, but not everyone was impressed. Paulo Costa, watching from home, blasted Chimaev’s wrestling-heavy performance as bad for MMA.

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.

Paulo Costa has a defined vision for how he would dispatch of Khamzat Chimaev if he were ever booked in a fight against the UFC middleweight champion. This

UFC middleweight star Paulo Costa has given his thoughts on why, in his opinion, Khamzat Chimaev is bad for the sport of mixed martial arts.

The UFC middleweight division has a new champion and his name is Khamzat Chimaev. The prolific wrestler from Chechnya rose to 15-0 with a dominant title win over South African champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319. Chimaev massively outgrappled du Plessis across five rounds to win a unanimous decision.

In the main event of UFC 319, Khamzat Chimaev defeated Dricus du Plessis to capture the UFC middleweight championship. One man who was watching very closely is Paulo Costa who, as we know, has been embroiled in a back and forth rivalry with Khamzat for many years now.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Khamzat Chimaev has finally given his side of the story of the accusations fellow UFC middleweight Paulo Costa made against him.

Paulo Costa returned to the win column with a strong performance against Roman Kopylov in the UFC 318 co-main event.

Previously, during the UFC 318 Media Day, Costa had revealed that Chimaev sent ‘dirty things’ to his partner on Instagram. According to the Brazilian, things are more personal now, and he ...

Paulo Costa is back in the winner's column. Roman Kopylov tried his best to mount a late surge, but Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) built a lead too big to overcome. The middleweight bout served as the ...

Chimaev achieved what felt like a long-awaited and inevitable coronation when he entered his first career title tilt against the now-former champion Dricus du Plessis this past Saturday in Chicago. As usual with "Borz," it was another pillar-to-post domination that dethroned du Plessis via a unanimous decision.