Paulo Costa details reason for recent surgery, confident UFC 294 bout vs. Khamzat Chimaev unaffected

Despite recent health issues, Paulo Costa is confident he will set foot in the octagon on Oct. 21.

The former UFC middleweight title challenger is scheduled to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event of UFC 294 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Although the fight currently stands, there was a recent scare by the by public after Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) revealed he recently underwent elbow surgery and is still recovering days away from the fight.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Costa clarified and shared more details on what is going on with his health.

“I went to the hospital and doctor said, ‘Paulo, unfortunately, it’s necessary to open your arm because it’s big inflammation and there’s infection inside your elbow,” Costa said when he found out he needed surgery “… Anyway, when doctor told me it was necessary to open, I told my team and I just asked doctor how long it would take to remove these stitches. They said we have five weeks from the fight right now, and you need to stay with stitches for two weeks, so after two weeks we’re going to remove them, and you have two weeks left to train. I said that’s good news, that’s enough. Two weeks is enough to train. I’m already in shape. I’m ready for this fight.”

Costa had an infection on his elbow in late August prior to traveling to Abu Dhabi. He had a small procedure done in Brazil, but things got worse once in Abu Dhabi and that’s when he was told he needed surgery.

Costa says the UFC is aware of his health issue and are keeping a close eye.

“They are just worried about me because I was taking a lot of medicines since Brazil,” Costa said. “I took 10 days of antibiotics in Brazil and here 14 days before and after surgery, so they are worried about my health.”

Yet, despite the surgery being very close to his fight, Costa is confident it won’t affect the status of the fight with Chimaev. After all, the UFC is aware and has yet to pull him from the bout, and he’s been able to fully train despite the bandage wraps on his elbow.

“I just ask doctor to please keep me in the fight,” Costa said. “I even asked him to not let UFC know, but that was not possible, so they report everything to UFC and I try to say thank you, UFC, for keeping me in this fight because I truly believe in 100 times I beat him 99 percent. I have all the tools to beat this motherf*cker.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.