Former Opponent Assesses How Khamzat Chimaev Will Fare Against Paulo Costa At Middleweight

While he’s made a splash at welterweight to date, rising UFC star Khamzat Chimaev will turn his focus to the middleweight gold later this year.

The Chechen-born Swede rose into the top five of the 170-pound division courtesy of victories over Li Jingliang and Gilbert Burns. Last September, however, Chimaev became embroiled in controversy after his sizable weight miss forced a massive shift to the UFC 279 card.

In the aftermath, his divisional future appeared to be up in the air, with “Borz” calling out fighters from multiple weight classes. The next step has ultimately been a pause of his welterweight ambitions, with Chimaev set to return to middleweight for the first time since knocking out Gerald Meerschaert in 2020.

At UFC 294 this coming October, the #4-ranked 170lber will look to jump straight into contention in the division above, where he’ll meet former title challenger Paulo Costa.

Since the bout’s confirmation, predictions and assessments have varied. One man who’s familiar with Chimaev’s skillset recently offered his, and he’s expecting even more dominance for the Chechen-born Swede at 185 pounds.

Holland: Chimaev Will Be More Dominant At MW

After Chimaev’s weight miss last year saw his planned main event with Nate Diaz scrapped, Kevin Holland stepped up to meet “Borz” on a day’s notice. “Trailblazer” was ultimately submitted inside one round of their co-headliner.

During an interview with Helen Yee, Holland looked ahead to Chimaev’s return to middleweight, a division that “Big Mouth” himself was formerly ranked in before making the drop in early 2022.

Although he acknowledged that Costa will mark Chimaev’s toughest test thus far, Holland is predicting “Borz” to enjoy even more emphatic displays in the higher weight class.

“That should be pretty fun,” Holland said. “I think a lot of people forget that Paulo Costa was undefeated until he lost to Izzy (Israel Adesanya). So, I think a lot of people just kind of forget how good Paulo Costa is. So I think that’s probably the toughest fight that Chimaev is gonna have to date, especially with the size.

“I think Chimaev at 185 will probably be even more dominant than he is at 170. Not as bad of a cut. He can feel more comfortable,” Holland continued. “I think It’s a good fight. Dude looks like he’s putting on a little bit more size. I think they’ll match up and clash up really well.”

Chimaev will no doubt look to prove Holland’s assessment correct by making a statement against “Borrachinha” in Abu Dhabi. Should he do so in impressive fashion, perhaps an immediate shot at Israel Adesanya’s title will await him soon after.

First fights official for #UFC294 and they are HUGE!🎟️ Tickets on sale this week![ @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/6w3HaO4ojN

— UFC (@ufc) July 20, 2023

• Read Also: Ranked UFC Middleweight Thinks Khamzat Chimaev ‘Should Be Able To Impose His Will’ On Paulo Costa

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