Khamzat Chimaev was the most hyped fighter in the UFC until late last year. UFC CEO Dana White, in an interview last year, revealed that ‘Borz’ was the most popular, in-demand fighter among fans and the guy fans wanted to see fight the most, after Conor McGregor, of course. He earned this hype because of his early days in the promotion, especially during the ‘Fight Island’ days in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There, the Chechen would put up some of the most dominant, one-sided performances, mauling his opponents, and making short work of them. In addition, his bombastic, villainous persona and wild trash talk would further endear him to the fans. Another example of this came when he messaged Paulo Costa‘s girlfriend before their slated bout last year.

Paulo Costa once reacted to Khamzat Chimaev messaging his girlfriend

Khamzat Chimaev, then unranked at middleweight, was scheduled to face then #6 ranked Paulo Costa on the co-main event of UFC 294 last October. In the run-up to the bout, Chimaev indulged in his signature trash-talk, taking shots at Costa and trying to get inside his head. To do this, the Swedish national went as far as messaging ‘Borrachinha’s girlfriend (and manager) Tamara Alves.

In the run-up to their scheduled Abu Dhabi bout (which Costa eventually pulled out of because of a bad case of staph infection), Chimaev had sent Alves a direct message. The DM had pictures of Israel Adesanya mock-humping Costa when he was in the turtle position on the canvas during their UFC 253 bout back in 2020. Along with these pictures, he sent her a message mocking Costa.

“I gonna report this harassment by Gourmet Chen Chen towards my girlfriend/future mother of my childres and manager. I felt threatened by this handsome guy calling her on dm 🥲 please @Tamaraalves2 Don’t be fooled by that beautiful face 🙏🏼🧃 inshala,” Paulo Costa tweeted while sharing Chimaev’s DM.

Alves was not the one who kept quiet as she replied to the tweet by her boyfriend by writing, “This guys is so scared. So, his trying to affect you trough a women. But, I think he don’t know that I’m on this game for a long time and this type of thing just show his weakness. Don’t be scared Chen Chen.” This drama only added to the hype for their bout, but alas, the Brazilian was ultimately forced to pull out of the bout because of medical issues.

Khamzat Chimaev then faced Kamaru Usman, who took the fight on short notice, and Chimaev defeated the former champion by a controversial majority decision at the UFC 294 clash. This victory made ‘Borz’ the official number one title contender for the middleweight crown. And while the Brazilian may have missed out on facing Chimaev and getting close to a title shot, he has another opportunity to do so in his upcoming UFC 302 clash.

Costa to face Strickland at UFC 302

Sean Strickland, in perhaps the biggest upset in UFC history, defeated Israel Adesanya at their UFC 293 bout last year to become the new middleweight champ. He then faced #1 ranked Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 this January, losing his title to the South African in a razor-thin split decision loss. After the bout, almost everybody (including Strickland and Du Plessis) agreed that a rematch was in order. However, the UFC seems to have different plans, with a rumored DDP vs. Israel Adesanya in the works for UFC 305.

But Strickland is still up there in the 185-pound title picture. This is why Paulo Costa’s UFC 302 clash against ‘Tarzan’ is so consequential. If ‘Borrachinha’ can defeat the former champ, he will most likely be, at most, one step removed from a title shot (perhaps an official title eliminator against the winner of the upcoming Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev bout). And both men, at their UFC 302 pre-fight press conference, have promised fans they would be going to war and bleeding for them, which given their fighting style and history is no exaggeration.

Who do you think will win at UFC 302? Drop your predictions in the comments below.