Chimaev Vows To Smash Adesanya’s Face

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Fighting like a chicken is only cool on Family Guy, so don’t expect UFC multi-weight sensation Khamzat Chimaev to be impressed by what Paulo Costa did with his opportunity to fight reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 on Fight Island.

Costa was erased by way of second-round technical knockout.

“I think Paulo Costa was scared in this fight,” Chimaev told Dan Hardy. “I don’t know why people are scared to go in the cage and fight. In the gym, everybody’s tough, like hard sparring. Then come to the cage, they are being chicken. I don’t understand this mentality.”

Chimaev (9-0) competes at both welterweight and middleweight and could be much closer to a 170-pound title shot with a victory over top-ranked contender Leon Edwards, assuming the promotion rubber-stamps their matchup for next month’s main event in Las Vegas.

Either way, “Borz” plans to eventually target “The Last Stylebender.”

“Adesanya is good in the standup, but nobody did wrestling against him,” Chimaev explained. “Yoel Romero, he only threw three or four punches in the standup. I can beat this guy. How is he going to come up from under me if I take him down? I don’t think he will. I’m going to beat his face.”

Adesanya (20-0) is likely to rematch former 185-pound champion Robert Whittaker in early 2021, then may turn his attention to light heavyweight rival Jon Jones. What Chimaev can do between now and then will ultimately decide if and when these two ever share the Octagon.