Despite multiple reports that he is out of UFC 294, Paulo Costa is refusing to pull out of his co-main event clash with Khamzat Chimaev.
Over the last 24 hours, the promotion’s next big pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi on October 21 has seen some major changes. First, Charles Oliveira was forced to withdraw from his headlining rematch with Islam Makhachev after suffering a nasty cut above his right eye during a sparring session.
Fortunately, the UFC was able to quickly secure a replacement opponent in reigning featherweight world champion Alexander Volkanovski.
However, shortly after Oliveira’s withdrawal, it was revealed that the highly anticipated bout between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev was in danger. Earlier this week, ‘The Eraser’ revealed that he had undergone surgery three weeks ago to clear up a nasty case of bursitis in his elbow. Despite this, Costa remained insistent that he would be ready to go for UFC 294. That no longer appears to be the case.
But as rumors begin to swirl that Costa is out, the one-time UFC title challenger remains insistent that he will not be pulling out of the fight.
“Im not pulling out this fight anyway, let me fight the f*ck gourmet Chen Chen,” Costa wrote on X. “IAM here in ABUDHABI ALready n prepared mtfks!”
Im not pulling out this fight anyway , let me fight the fuck gourmet Chen Chen . IAM here in ABUDHABI ALready n prepared mtfks !
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) October 11, 2023
Paulo Costa Rumored to Be Replaced by Some Big Names
Of course, that doesn’t mean Costa is still going to step inside the Octagon come October 21. Though he’s clearly game, the UFC and/or the local athletic commission probably won’t be too keen on him competing less than a month after undergoing surgery.
As of this writing, there is no official word on who could potentially replace Costa, but recent reports suggest that Marvin Vettori was offered the spot and turned it out. Other rumors suggest that Jared Cannonier, Roman Dolidze, or even former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman could step in and save to co-main event.
If ‘The Eraser’ is in fact out of UFC 294, who would you like to see step up and square off with ‘Borz’ in the co-main event?