Out of UFC 294, Paulo Costa Puts Entire Card in Jeopardy as Dana White Struggles to Replace Khamzat Chimaev’s Opponent After Marvin Vettori’s Denial

There has been a dramatic shift in the landscape for the UFC’s upcoming pay-per-view- UFC 294. The main event (Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveira) fell apart as the challenger withdrew due to injury. His compatriot will also not fight in Abu Dhabi, as reports state Paulo Costa is out of his middleweight bout against Khamzat Chimaev. While the promotion replaced ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira with Makhachev’s old foe, they are struggling to find an opponent for the undefeated ‘Borz’.

There was a lot of anticipation around Khamzat Chimaev’s return to middleweight, for the first time since finishing Gerald Meerscheart in 17 seconds. It seemed like he and Paulo Costa would have been the perfect matchup, given the history of bad blood between the two. However, an elbow injury compelled the Brazilian to reportedly withdraw from the fight. Who will replace Paulo Costa at UFC 294?

Khamzat Chimaev struggles to find an opponent after Paulo Costa pulled out of UFC 294

Paulo Costa was determined to fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. The one-time middleweight title challenger had recently mentioned an injury he suffered. That injury turned into a staph infection, which required immediate medical attention. It later went on to develop into a bursitis infection, and Costa had to undergo immediate surgery. This saw the UFC reportedly turn to another former middleweight title challenger, who declined.

Given Chimaev’s credentials and Marvin Vettori‘s recent run-in, it comes as no surprise that he turned down the shot to be in the co-main event. After ‘The Italian Dream’ beat ‘Borrachinha,’ he has gone 1-2, suffering a brutal defeat to Jared Cannonier in June.

At first, it seemed like the Costa-Chimaev fight might take place. Paulo Costa flew to Abu Dhabi almost a month ago and after discussions with his doctors and team members, it looked like he would compete on October 21st. The Brazilian had shared images of the same, raising concerns among fans. However, he assured that he was training to the best extent the setbacks allowed him to. ‘Borrachinha’ also made an appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’ to confirm his participation on the Abu Dhabi card.

Unfortunately, the latest developments point to Paulo Costa being completely out of the bout. This has put the UFC and Khamzat Chimaev in a tight spot.

The dreaded Chechen is a tough ask for any fighter with a full camp. Hence, it is no surprise that even a former title challenger turned him down for a short-notice bout. Surprisingly, this is not even the biggest blow to the card.

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Changes made to UFC 294’s main event: Makhachev versus Oliveira

If the problems with the upcoming PPV’s co-main event weren’t enough, the UFC found itself in a bad place with the headliner. Charles Oliveira pulled out of his rematch against Islam Makhachev. These two incidents took place in just a span of 48 hours. Moreover, the cause for ‘Do Bronx’s’ pulling out of the fight was also because of an injury.

This will surely be a piece of sad news for fans who hoped to see Oliveira brawl for the lightweight title. After all, the Brazilian lost his title to Makhachev at UFC 280 and had been waiting for a chance to redeem himself. However, Dana White was able to keep the hopes of the fans alive after undisputed featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski stepped up.

‘The Great’ will now face Islam Makhachev in a rematch from the UFC 284 fight, which has made UFC 294 even more interesting. Meanwhile, the promotion is still working to find a suitable opponent for Khamzat Chimaev.

Chimaev made his name by stepping in at short notice during the first events on Fight Island in 2020. Things are not looking bright for him at the moment, but fighters do step in on short notice. Sharing the octagon with ‘Borz’ on a prime PPV spot will do wonders for any fighter. UFC fans, however, will have to wait and see if Chimaev gets his opponent to make a comeback at UFC 294.

Read More: Where Does Khamzat Chimaev Train? Did He Leave All Stars Training Centre? All We Know About the UFC Star’s Coach, Gym and Training Partners