UFC CEO and President Dana White has revealed the upcoming bout between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev may be off.
In the post-event press conference for Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday night, White said “it’s possible” regarding the fight cancellation. Whilst the fight is still booked for the event, Paulo Costa recently revealed he had elbow surgery. White claimed that despite Costa’s insistence on the bout, fans will still have to know “very soon” regarding its cancellation.
Despite Costa’s insistence, White confirmed that the company is discussing replacements with “a couple” of fighters. “Hopefully within a couple of hours, I’ll have an answer for you”, he later added.
Paulo Costa returns to the Octagon
Paulo Costa will potentially be returning to the Octagon for the first time since 2022. Beginning as a staph infection, the elbow rapidly got more infected, developing into bursitis. Costa revealed this via X, formerly Twitter. He confirmed this via Alan Jouban, a former UFC fighter, seeing that he had a similar infection once as well.
Potential replacements for Paulo Costa are few and far between. The UFC will have some options, but the fight between Costa and Chimaev is one of the most anticipated on the card. It is likely that the matchmakers will have discussed many ranked opponents for Chimaev.
Costa’s previous win was against former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. A bout the same night that Leon Edwards won the welterweight title, the fight was scrappy, and the fighters were exhausted due to the high altitude.
Costa had links to other opponents. Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was an option announced by the UFC, but Costa denied that he had signed the contract. The fight was ultimately dropped, despite the official announcement from the UFC itself.
Do you think Paulo Costa vs Khamzat Chimaev will go ahead?
