Paulo Costa shares five-word response after fan asks him to 'save his energy for Khamzat Chimaev'

Paulo Costa recently came up with a nonchalant response to a fan after the latter claimed the Brazilian should target Khamzat Chimaev.

The UFC tried to make the Chimaev vs. Costa happen at UFC 294 in 2023. However, Costa pulled out of the fight due to a staph infection and was replaced by Kamaru Usman. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' proved to be a tough challenge for 'Borz', who managed to edge out a majority decision win over the former champion.

Chimaev's aspirations for a title shot were further solidified after he made light work of Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last year, and he currently holds the No.3 spot in the middleweight rankings.

A recent X update from No.11-ranked Costa seemingly hinted that he's scouted out his next opponent, No.7-ranked Jared Cannonier, who is coming off a come-from-behind TKO victory over Gregory Rodrigues. The former title challenger simply wrote:

"Jared Canonnier"

Check out Paulo Costa's post below:

Fans took to the comments section of Costa's post to express their opinions. One of them refuted his choice, claiming he needs to gear up for Chimaev instead. The fan commented:

"Nope, save ur energy for Khamzat [Chimaev]"

Costa clapped back, writing:

"I don’t need ratzat chenchen [Khamzat Chimaev]."

Check out Paulo Costa's reply below:

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When Paulo Costa slammed Khamzat Chimaev for sliding into his partner's DMs

Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa fired several shots at each other in the lead-up to their UFC 294 clash, which never came to fruition. Chimaev notably chose a unique tactic to get under Costa's skin, sending DMs to his rival's partner, Tamara Alve.

The Brazilian retorted with a sarcastic diss aimed at Chimaev. He highlighted 'Borz's' DMs in an X post, writing:

"I gonna report this harassment by Gourmet Chen Chen towards my girlfriend/future mother of my children and manager. I felt threatened by this handsome guy calling her on dm please @Tamaraalves2 Don't be fooled by that beautiful face inshala."

Check out Paulo Costa's post about Khamzat Chimaev below: