Paulo Costa Warns Khamzat Chimaev Against Light Heavyweight Move

Paulo Costa has never been shy about picking a fight, but this time he’s gone back to an old rival and turned the volume right up.

The Brazilian powerhouse has reignited his feud with Khamzat Chimaev, warning that a rumored move to light heavyweight could be a brutal mistake for the Chechen-born contender.

Costa knows all about hitting a wall. After tearing through the middleweight division and earning a title shot, he suffered the first defeat of his professional career against Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. That loss sent him into a spiral. The aura went, the rhythm went, and so did the results: four defeats in five fights, with his only win coming over a retiring Luke Rockhold.

He stepped away. A full year out of the cage, unsure how to fix a career that had suddenly veered off course.

The reset worked.

Costa returned looking sharper, leaner, and far more dangerous. He outclassed Roman Kopylov, then announced himself at 205 pounds with a vicious head-kick knockout of previously unbeaten Azamat Murzakanov in April — a true light heavyweight debut that felt like a statement, not an experiment.

He hasn’t fought since that career-defining finish, but he hasn’t been quiet either. His attention is now locked on Chimaev, whose own future has become a constant talking point as rumors swirl about a jump to light heavyweight.

Costa, speaking to Mr. Gamble, made it clear he sees opportunity in that move — for himself, not for Chimaev.

"I think that would be great for me," Costa said. "It would be wonderful for him? I don't think it would be very good, no."

The message was blunt. Chimaev at 205 isn’t a threat in Costa’s eyes. He’s a target.

Costa then drew a pointed comparison, invoking Alex Pereira’s unsuccessful venture up to heavyweight as a warning sign for Chimaev’s potential leap.

"I think for him it would be like Alex moving up to heavyweight, you know? I think the proportion is something similar, isn't it? The body type. I don't know. I think they're very light."

In Costa’s mind, size and frame matter at the elite levels of the heavier divisions, and Chimaev simply doesn’t carry the kind of bulk that rules at 205. The Brazilian, now settled into his own light heavyweight body, clearly believes he would impose himself physically and technically on a man who built his reputation rag-dolling opponents at lower weights.

A feud that once flickered in the background now has a new hook: Costa reborn at light heavyweight, Chimaev rumored to be on the way up, and a Brazilian knockout artist convinced that the jump would expose his rival rather than elevate him.

If Chimaev does make that move, there’s already a man waiting for him — and Paulo Costa sounds like he’s ready to slam the door on his ascent.