Paulo Costa Puts Two Champions On Notice Following UFC LHW Debut

Paulo Costa returned to the UFC light heavyweight division on April 11 at UFC 327 with an emphatic victory over undefeated prospect Azamat Murzakanov, putting the Russian down with a head kick in the third round. 

Despite only just joining the ranks at 205 pounds, Costa is now ranked in the top ten and is already throwing his name into the hat for a potential title shot against Carlos Ulberg. Costa spoke to Maddyn Johnstone-Thomas after his victory at UFC 327, and he put the "Black Jag" on notice. "Congrats Carlos, but I'm here as well." Costa might have to be patient when it comes to facing Ulberg as the "Black Jag" looked to have suffered an injury in his title win, with many believing that it is a torn ACL that Ulberg suffered.

Costa went on to say that he wants to face the best in the world now that he feels better than ever at 205 pounds, which brought him on to the topic of Khamzat Chimaev, the current UFC Middleweight Champion. The two men have had bad blood for some time, and when he was asked who he would like to face next knowing that Ulberg might be injured, Costa turned his attention to Chimaev. "I have a beef with Chimaev, I call him 'Gourmet Chi-Chain,' I'd like to fight him. We can do it here [at light heavyweight] or wherever the UFC thinks it's going to be an exciting fight." 

Chimaev will be in action next month at UFC 328 when he looks to make his first defense of the UFC Middleweight Championship against Sean Strickland. Whether Costa will get his wish if Chimaev emerges with the gold remains to be seen.

Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.