"The hunger in his speech…" - Khamzat Chimaev's message of purpose grips MMA fans

Khamzat Chimaev is bustling with ruthless intent as he inches towards his middleweight showdown against former title challenger Paulo Costa on Saturday, October 21, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

In a new video on his YouTube channel, 'Borz' can be seen delivering a strong message to his opponent as the rest of the division. He says:

"Now it's my time. [I'm] going to smash that guy [Costa]. It doesn't matter if it's Izzy [Israel Adesanya] or [Sean] Strickland or somebody else. We are coming for them... I don't know why the guys [ UFC are] waiting. [They should] give that chance to me. They are hiding that belt from me. Anyway, like I said - When I smash everybody, they have to give that belt to me."

Catch Khamzat Chimaev's comments below (3:44):

The Chechen-born fighter's stark warning has taken the internet by storm, prompting fight fans to flood his comments section.

A fight fan, @danik5613, opined:

"The hunger in his speech… if he doesn't become champion, I don’t know who will."

Another user @luanselmani4695 wrote:

"Khamzat is such an underrated promoter."

@hashimito69 stated:

"Goosebumps watching this video."

@raymondshamsher9052 wrote:

"Train hard champ, if you smash Paulo they will surely give you [a] title shot."

Another fight fan, @johnsmith-hs1we, wrote:

"UFC hiding the belt from you because they know once you get it, will be yours for a very very long time. 😂👑🐐🙏🔥"

@darvoid66 wrote:

"He might be soft-spoken but he's a warrior and will absolutely take the belt if he ever gets the chance."

Another fight fan wrote:

"This guy is the most feared fighter in the UFC game, nobody is on his level except the goats Khabib and Jon Jones."

@tahamezzi829 wrote:

"Looking very calm and confident also training harder than ever, I truly believe we are going to see the best Khamzat version."

Image courtesy @KhamzatChimaevBORZ on YouTube

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Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa: Betting odds

As per UFC's official website, Paulo Costa is the -375 favorite over the +270 underdog Khamzat Chimaev for their UFC 294 showdown. However, the final odds might be different since the fight is still almost a month out.

According to the current odds, a $1,000 bet on Costa can potentially yield users a payout of $1,266.67, while the same wager on 'Borz' will result in a more lucrative payout of $3,700 if Chimaev gets his hand raised.