Jun 1, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Sean Strickland (red gloves) fights Paulo Costa (blue gloves) during UFC 302 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

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Paulo Costa Reveals Khamzat Chimaev’s Text Messages To His Girlfriend After UFC 294 Fight Cancellation

Paulo Costa details what Khamzat Chimaev said to his girlfriend in direct messages after UFC 294 fight cancellation!

Jun 1, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Sean Strickland (red gloves) fights Paulo Costa (blue gloves) during UFC 302 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

When fighters trade insults on social media or during press conferences, fans usually eat it up as entertainment. But what happens when the trash talk moves beyond the public eye and into personal territory? That’s exactly what Paulo Costa claims happened with Khamzat Chimaev, and it’s turned their professional rivalry into something much more personal.

Costa and Chimaev have been circling each other for years now. Both middleweights have been climbing the ranks, with fans constantly calling for them to settle their differences in the octagon. Their beef reached a boiling point back in 2022 when they had a heated confrontation at the UFC Performance Institute. Most people thought it was just typical fighter drama, but Costa recently revealed there was much more to the story.

What Did Khamzat Chimaev Say To Paulo Costa’s Girlfriend?

The Brazilian fighter dropped a bombshell during his appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. Costa explained that their scheduled fight fell through when he needed elbow surgery, but that’s when things took a weird turn. According to him, Chimaev decided to send threatening messages to his girlfriend Tamara instead of keeping the beef between them as fighters. Paulo Costa didn’t hold back when describing what happened. He said Chimaev sent messages to Tamara saying he was going to beat her husband and do “bad things” to him.

“That same week [his elbow surgery], he sent a message to my girl, Tamara. He acted like a woman. He said some bad stuff. I remember he said something like, ‘I’m going to beat your husband, and I’m going to do bad things… this, that, and that.’ But he sent it to her, not to me.”

The Brazilian was clearly still upset about it, asking why someone would message his girlfriend instead of him directly. For Costa, this wasn’t just disrespect; it was a complete breach of the unwritten rules that exist between fighters. Even in a sport where trash talk is part of the game, most fighters keep their families and partners out of it.

The timing of these revelations is interesting too. Costa is getting ready to face Roman Kopylov at UFC 318. Meanwhile Chimaev is preparing for a title shot at UFC 319. Both fighters are back in action, which means there’s finally a chance this long awaited fight could happen. Costa has even stated that he would call out Chimaev if he won at UFC 318.

(Image Credit: Joe Camporeale – Imagn Images)

Khamzat Chimaev

Paulo Costa

UFC 318

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!