Khamzat Chimaev accused of “sabotaging” Paulo Costa fight camp ahead of UFC 294

Khamzat Chimaev is being accused of ‘sabotaging’ Paulo Costa fight camp ahead of UFC 294.

UFC 294 takes place on Saturday, October 21st at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The co-main event will feature Paulo Costa (14-2 MMA) going up against Khamzat Chimaev (12-0 MMA) in a middleweight bout.

Apparently Camp Chimaev is going out of their way to make Costa’s preparations for the fight as difficult as possible.

Eric Albarracin, who trains Costa, spoke with ‘The MMA Hour’ about the antics they’ve been dealing with from the Chimaev camp:

“We were in the (hotel) lobby together. We were outside in the parking lot, they were in the lobby. I mean, tensions were high because the last time they saw each other at the UFC PI, you guys saw what almost went down. You know, with the biggest fight in UAE history going down in two weeks, what is the reason why three weeks ago we’re staying at a hotel with no security?”

Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev previously engaged in a heated altercation at the UFC’s Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada ahead of UFC 279 in September of last year. The two have shared barbs on social media ever since.

Continuing Albarracin continued (h/t MMAMania):

“After that happened, people started calling us in the middle of the night, waking us up. So, there’s just been some sabotaging going on on his end, trying to keep us with the jet lag. But it’s not gonna work because this time we came out super early to right what was wrong, what happened last time we came out here to Abu Dhabi. ‘Secret Juice Costa’ now, he’s cold, he’s calculated. He’s recalibrated, he’s reformulated. He’s smarter than ever. This time in Abu Dhabi, we’re getting that title shot.”

Are you looking forward to UFC 294? Do you believe ‘Borrachinha’ can hand Khamzat Chimaev his first loss in the Octagon?

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