“I told her he has to be a man,” Khamzat Chimaev finally reveals REAL story behind taunting texts to Paulo Costa’s girlfriend

Khamzat Chimaev addressed the Paulo Costa controversy, explaining that Costa's girlfriend messaged him for fun, dismissing accusations and highlighting their pursuit of money. Chimaev remains confident about winning at UFC 294.

“I told her he has to be a man,” Khamzat Chimaev finally reveals REAL story behind taunting texts to Paulo Costa’s girlfriend

Khamzat Chimaev clarifies about Paulo Costa's wife (Image via: Imago, Instagram/ Tamara Alves)

Khamzat Chimaev clarified his part in the controversy around him. This was related to Paulo Costa‘s accusations that Chimaev slid into his girlfriend’s DMs. Costa was Chimaev’s original opponent at UFC 294 before Kamaru Usman replaced him.

During the pre-fight press conference of the event, the Chechen fighter was questioned about Paulo Costa and the accusations made by Costa’s girlfriend. This is what Chimaev had to say about it:

She’s writing to me. Delete a message she wrote to me, please. That, don’t take it seriously, and it’s like she wants to make money. Delete that. I just sent a picture to her and a funny picture just to have fun. I don’t know, it’s not against anything, it’s just a joke. His wife, you know. She’s writing to me like it’s not personal, and don’t take it. We’re just trying to make money. Yeah, but I sent the picture and I told her people don’t make money that way, you know. You have to be a man. Anyway, jokes, jokes. I understand trash talk, but it has to be on one line, you know? So don’t jump all over.

Khamzat Chimaev spoke on the UFC 294 pre-fight press conference
YouTube video

With Kamaru Usman replacing Costa on short notice, Khamzat Chimeav was seen unbothered. “Borz” compared him to the superior version of Kamaru Usman, the former UFC welterweight champion. When Chimaev broke through the welterweight division, the oddsmakers had Usman, the champion at the time, as the favorite. At UFC 294, Chimaev is a big betting favorite.

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The UFC initially scheduled UFC 294 to have Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev as the main event, while the co-main event featured Paulo Costa against Khamzat Chimaev. However, Charles Oliveira suffered a nasty cut, and Paulo Costa contracted a staph infection. Consequently, Alexander Volkanovski replaced Charles Oliveira, and Kamaru Usman replaced Paulo Costa in their respective fights. Moreover, the bout between Usman and Chimaev has already gained widespread recognition as a number-one contender matchup.

Khamzat Chimaev lashed at the double standards of the MMA analysts


At UFC 279, Khamzat Chimaev missed weight by 10 lbs, leading to concerns about his reliability within the MMA community. This led to a shakeup of events that culminated in Tony Ferguson and Nate Diaz in the main event. Chimaev fought Kevin Holland in the co-main event. Both Diaz and Chimaev would go on to win their respective fights via submission.

Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev (Source: IMAGO)


During the pre-fight press conference of UFC 294, Chimaev was asked about his opponent, Paulo Costa, and the issues Costa had with missing weight. He said about the double standard of the MMA media and analysts as he said, 

Everyone speak about my weight. Not Paulo Costa's. I don't know how many times he missed weight.
Khamzat Chiamev said during at the UFC 294 pre-fight presser.

Chimaev, at the post-fight presser further clarified that he was not at fault for missing weight at UFC 279. Presumably, the UFC brass had set some plans in motion, and he talked about them. Furthermore, he also talked about him easily getting past UFC 294 and eventually winning the middleweight title from Sean Strickland.

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