"Paulo's just trying to get a payday" - Khamzat Chimaev's coach on altercation with Paulo Costa at UFC PI

Khamzat Chimaev's coach Andreas Michael claimed that Paulo Costa started a fight with his star student to earn a massive payday somewhere down the line.

Chimaev and Costa infamously had a heated run-in at the UFC Performance Institute (PI) a few days before UFC 279. Both men traded barbs and challenged each other to a fight. Fortunately, they were successfully kept apart and went their separate ways.

Watch the altercation between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa:

The way Michael saw it, Costa was merely trying to start a beef with Chimaev to set up a lucrative fight for himself. Appearing on the latest episode of The MMA Hour, the Allstar Training Center coach said:

"You know what? I don't even blame Paulo. Paulo's just trying to get a payday. Right now, Khamzat is one everyone's bullseye. He the one who started to made a name, that make waves... And everyone's just calling him out to get a payday. I understand that; it's business."

Check out the interview below in the clip below:

Michael added that Costa made some snide comments about Chimaev and that his pupil merely reacted.

However, Jake Shields shared a very different version of the incident. According to the former Strikeforce champion, he and Costa were going through some grappling drills when Chimaev started shouting and cussing out the Brazilian.

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Paulo Costa labels Khamzat Chimaev a "fake gangster"

Khamzat Chimaev is one of the most feared fighters on the UFC roster. As far as Paulo Costa is concerned, however, the No.3-ranked welterweight is nothing more than a bully and a "fake gangster."

"I know you [Khamzat Chimaev] just want to fight small guys, short guys, shy guys like [Gilbert] Burns," Costa told The MacLife. "Guys who you can beat and be a bully, but I’m not. I’m a big one, I’m the biggest middleweight in the UFC so you cannot bully me. When you show up, I will be here, ready for you because you are a ‘Gourmet Chechen,’ you are a fake gangster so that’s it."

Watch Paulo Costa's interview below:

Costa's comments came after Chimaev dismissed a potential matchup against 'Borrachinha.' After beating Kevin Holland at UFC 279, Chimaev said that he's uninterested in fighting Costa and is eyeing a title shot in either the welterweight or the middleweight division.