Hall of Famer claims Khamzat Chimaev caused Paulo Costa's concerning fidgeting at UFC 318 press conference: "He never got rid of it"

Chael Sonnen recently shared his thoughts on Paulo Costa nervously fidgeting during the UFC 318 pre-fight press conference and theorized that Khamzat Chimaev could have something to do with it.

Before his fight against Roman Kopylov last weekend, Costa attended the pre-fight presser and seemed to have a nervous energy about him. Fans spotted the UFC middleweight shaking and fidgeting in his seat while answering questions, which led to many speculating about the possible cause for such behavior.

In a recent video uploaded to YouTube, Sonnen shared his theory on why Costa was shaking and claimed Chimaev may be responsible in some way. At the UFC 318 presser, Costa notably called out Chimaev for allegedly DM'ing his partner and challenged the Chechen-born fighter to a fight.

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Sonnen explained that Chimaev may have occupied Costa's mental space to the point that the Brazilian showed his stress physically and said:

"You guys see the press conference?... He almost knocked a table over because he couldn't sit still, and he kept getting fidgety... He was so worked up, I went and spoke to him and asked, 'What's going on?' and he says, 'Coach, I'm not locked in on this fight. I got a problem, coach, I have a problem, and I got to get it behind me. I'm working on it. I'm trying, coach.' He's shaking as he's telling me."

Sonnen revealed that he convinced Costa to speak his mind at the presser to get the weight off his chest and continued:

"And it had to do with something about Chimaev but he wouldn't go any further than that. He said, 'I have a problem with Chimaev. I need to see this guy. I need to find Chimaev.' He starts shaking as he's telling this... He never got rid of it [shaking]. He went out there and fought with it."

Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below (5:16):

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Paulo Costa details Khamzat Chimaev's alleged DM's to his partner

The beef between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev runs deep. It appears Chimaev allegedly sent some disrespectful DMs to Costa's partner, Tamara Alves, before their scheduled fight at UFC 294 in October 2023.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Costa explained how Chimaev seemingly turned their professional rivalry into a personal feud and said:

“We were in Abu Dhabi one month before the fight. I was there to fight him... I think because he’s not confident... For some reason, I think, for lack of confidence, he said, I’m going to send a message for his woman. I will threaten her. I will try to express my frustration, my lack of confidence to her. This is a kind of coward action."

He continued:

"[In his text, he wrote], 'Your man is not a man enough. He likes men.' He sent a picture [of Israel Adesanya]. Said he likes black men. He’s not a man. You should look for a better man than him."

Catch Paulo Costa's comments below (10:30):

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Edited by Nishant Zende.