Paulo Costa is motivated to win against Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 to secure a callout against Khamzat Chimaev, driven by personal grievances and a desire to settle their ongoing feud.
Paulo Costa’s got a lot riding on Saturday’s fight. He needs a win to make a big callout.
Facing Roman Kopylov in UFC 318’s co-main event, Costa’s motivated. He’s in a 1-4 slump but has eyes on Khamzat Chimaev. Wants that mic time? Gotta win first.
“I wanna fight Chimaev bad,” Costa said at UFC 318 media day. “Wanna hurt him. Doesn’t matter if he won. We need to fight. It’s personal.”
Chimaev’s name makes Costa angry. “We’re young, we’ll be in line. I’ll do my best Saturday. I’m calling his name, win or lose. Unless he retires.”
Chimaev’s set to challenge Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in Chicago. Never lost in eight UFC fights. Costa almost fought him, but an elbow infection canceled it.
The bad blood’s still there. Costa’s upset over Chimaev’s alleged personal jabs.
“Dirty DMs,” Costa said. “Stuff like ‘Find a better man.’ Not what a real man does. Why not message me? Coward.”
Costa faces a tough task with Kopylov, who’s on a roll with back-to-back wins. Despite Costa’s popularity, his recent results are lacking.
He didn’t pick a winner for UFC 319’s main event but thinks Chimaev might struggle if he doesn’t finish du Plessis early.
“Hard to predict,” Costa said. “Dricus seems more solid. If he withstands Chimaev’s rush, who knows after round three? That’s my question.”