A bout between the unbeaten phenom and former title challenger Paulo Costa has sent the rumor mill into overdrive ever since their altercation at the UFC P.I. days before UFC 279. Henry Cejudo recently broke down how a potential fight between the duo will play out.
Speaking on his YouTube show, Breaking Down the Fight, Cejudo detailed why Paulo Costa could prove to be a tough matchup for Khamzat Chimaev. The former two-division champion highlighted Costa’s stellar takedown defense, as was evident in his memorable three-round bout against Yoel Romero.
Chimaev clearly has a wrestling-heavy game and we’re yet to see how he performs against a proven anti-wrestler. Additionally, Costa is a dangerous striker as well, making this a challenging matchup for ‘Borz’, according to Cejudo.
Watch Henry Cejudo’s full breakdown of Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa below:
Paulo Costa believes Khamzat Chimaev is scared of him
In the lead-up to UFC 279, Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa were seen exchanging words at the UFC P.I. in Las Vegas. Chimaev seemingly took offense to Costa’s previous comments about him and lashed out at the Brazilian, who appeared to laugh it off.
Costa is now gunning for a fight against Chimaev, who looks set to compete at 185 pounds in his next outing. ‘Borrachinha’ recently appeared on The MMA Hour and revealed that Chimaev will avoid fighting him and that the unbeaten Russian-born Swede is only eyeing favorable matchups.
Costa currently occupies the No.6 spot in the middleweight rankings. A win over the Brazilian will see Chimaev break into the top tier of the division and will move him one step closer to a fight against 185-pound kingpin Israel Adesanya.
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