Paulo Costa says hero-worshipping 'nerds' have inflated Khamzat Chimaev's hype after underwhelming UFC 294 showing

NPaulo Costa was forced to pull out of his scheduled fight with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, but that did not stop him from criticizing his expected opponent and furthering the bad blood.

Costa, who was medically removed from the co-main event due to an elbow injury, was present at the Etihad Arena for the event. Chimaev ended up facing former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and won via majority decision.

In an appearance on The MMA Hour, Costa called Chimaev's victory 'unimpressive' and said he believed he was not ready for 'big fights' at middleweight:

"I think the guys who support him [and] who are [big fans] of him are kids who see him as a Western guy who can represent them. When nerds look for somebody in the cartoons and know 'this is my hero.' You can recognize when a guy is ready for big things or not. I don't believe he's ready."

Even after announcing his elbow surgery just weeks before UFC 294, Paulo Costa was adamant about fighting Chimaev. Since the conclusion of the event, Costa has been angling for the fight to be re-booked.

Despite Usman's career accomplishments, Chimaev had entered the fight as a 3-1 favorite. With 'The Nigerian Nightmare' accepting the fight on 12-day notice and Chimaev's reputation as a violent finisher, many fans expected 'Borz' to put Usman away early and dominantly.

With all things considered, Paulo Costa was not the only person unimpressed by Chimaev. Many other UFC fighters agreed with Costa and suggested the original fight be re-booked instead of Chimaev receiving a title shot against UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

The severity of Paulo Costa's injury has yet to be announced, and thus the status of his return is unknown. Costa last competed at UFC 278 with a unanimous decision victory over former champion Luke Rockhold.