Earlier this week, Paulo Costa announced to the MMA world that he had surgery just three weeks ago. While getting hurt and having to take time off to recover is a normal part of the sport, the Brazilian is booked to fight in less than two weeks.
Although ‘Borrachinha’ brushed it aside and insisted he will still be available to compete on October 21, Dana White has shed some light on the bout amid all this confusion.
Directly after the Contender Series 2023 finale this evening, White dropped a bombshell regarding the Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa fight and it didn’t sound like good news.
“Yeah, it’s possible,” White said when referring to Chimaev vs. Costa potentially being canceled. “Hopefully in a couple of hours, I’ll have an answer for you.”
Dana White then revealed he and his team are looking at possible replacements if the fight does ultimately get pulled from the UFC 294 pay-per-view event.
“We’re talking to a couple [of] people right now.”
Related: Khamzat Chimaev eyes potential Sean Strickland title fight
Khamzat Chimaev is likely within touching distance of a UFC title shot and needs some notable wins under his belt to be called upon to fight for gold. A win over Paulo Costa would have certainly pushed him in the right direction but who is available for him on this short notice?
‘Borz’ will most probably have to face somebody lower ranked than Costa’s #6 placement in the division. If he is to bulldoze his way through the competition as he has many times in his career, there won’t be many people left ahead of him until he finally gets his most-wanted matchup against Sean Strickland.
The fallout of UFC 294
It seems to be one bad news after another in the UFC this past week as reports claimed that Islam Makhachev’s title fight against Charles Oliveira was canceled. ‘Do Bronx’ was forced to pull out due to a cut he gained during training and Alexander Volkanovski has bravely stepped up to replace the injured Brazilian.
This is now potentially the third high-profile brawl that has been taken off the card. The aforementioned Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa remains intact, but doubt continues to surround the middleweight affair.
One other fight that is guaranteed not to take place at UFC 294 is Nassourdine Imavov vs. Ikram Aliskerov. Imavov withdrew and left Aliskerov to the welcome short-notice replacement of Warlley Alves into the octagon.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/khamzat-chimaev-vs-paulo-costa-in-serious-doubt-following-dana-whites-comments