Paulo Costa, one of the more eccentric fighters in the UFC, was to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. The pair have been calling each other out for months now, and at UFC 294, we would have finally seen if Costa could have been the brakes on Borz’s win streak. But that will not happen anymore. Costa had to pull out of the fight due to a bad case of staph infection.
Instead, UFC 294 will feature former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who will be taking the fight on a mere nine days’ notice. Usman has been prepared to have the Octagon gates locked behind Khamzat and him for a long time. But the fight had never materialized until now. Meanwhile, Costa awaits surgery for the gruesome infection, pictures of which made fans squeamish.
What happened to Paulo Costa?
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Paulo Costa has had an elbow issue for some time now. As a matter of fact, he needed to have elbow surgery for the same during his fight camp versus Chimaev. However, during this time, Costa assured his fans that this setback would not stop him from fighting the untameable Swede.
Needless to say, that has not been the case. Costa needs to have another surgery, due to which he’s had to pull out of UFC 294. By sharing a picture of his infection on social media, fans got to know firsthand why Costa was in no shape to fight.
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The pictures have garnered a variety of reactions from all spheres, to say the least. With most fans simply worried about his health, they took to social media to let their thoughts and wishes be known.
Paulo Costa’s nasty elbow infection has got fans worried
Since the picture of his elbow went on Instagram, people have been really worried. It just looks ghastly. And not just Instagram; the picture of Paulo Costa’s punctured elbow has made its way to other social media platforms as well, notably X (formerly Twitter).
This has led to a wide variety of reactions from people. Some fans were just genuinely concerned.
“I had staph after a surgery. It’s no joke.”
“Staph infection via mats is crazy n deadly if not treated.”
“Why did he think he could fight?. Its a literal hole in his arm.”
“Not even to hate on paulo but what did he expect? Open surgical wound + gym = staph”
Some fans were visibly revolted by the picture!
“That’s staph for ya.”
“Nah this actually look bad.”
“wtf damn that’s nasty.”
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“That looks absolutely gross.”
Meanwhile, there were some others who, while they were worried for Costa, didn’t forget to remind him that he had pulled out of multiple fights before.
“I mean it’s tough,bc when you pullout multiple times you lose the benefit of the doubt,when it gets booked and the first thought it costa won’t show up, then he pulls out,even if it’s a legit reason and staff is no joke so it is legit,you only get a few pullouts for me personally.”
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Now, it’s evident that Costa couldn’t possibly fight Chimaev at UFC 294 with that arm if his life depended on it. So, we get Kamaru Usman, who’ll take his spot inside the octagon. Meanwhile, no dates have been set for Costa’s return to the Octagon. What do you think of Costa’s injury? Was pulling out of the fight justified? Let us know in the comments!
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