Paulo Costadoes not mince words, particularly when it comes to Khamzat Chimaev. As the UFC buzzes with anticipation of a spectacle on the White House grounds, ‘The Eraser,’ ahead of his UFC 318 fight, has already made his bid for a spot. “Chimaev,” Costa said without hesitation. “This son of a b—-. I want to fight this guy. I want to fight. It has to happen.” For Costa, this is more than just a dream matchup; it’s personal.

The hatred between the two middleweights has been simmering for years, leading to a memorable verbal spat at the UFC Performance Institute in 2022. Costa had just defeated Luke Rockhold and was on a high, while ‘Borz’ was carving his path. Though the two almost came to blows during the confrontation, ‘The Eraser’ has now alleged that the real heat came behind closed doors.

So what was the cause? Well, it’s all about a message. A DM, to be specific. Khamzat Chimaev sent one to his girlfriend instead of Costa. “Then they called to finalize the deal, but I had surgery on my elbow,” Costa told Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show.

The UFC 318 fighter revealed, “That same week, he sent a message to my girl, Tamara. He acted like a woman. He treated her… 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.” Costa saw it as a breach, not just disrespect.