Khamzat Chimaev vs Paulo Costa Winner to Get UFC Middleweight Title Shot
A new dimension has been added to Khamzat Chimaev vs Paulo Costa fight at UFC 294 PPV.
Paulo Costa claimed during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour that the UFC has informed him that the winner of the Costa vs Chimaev bout will get an opportunity to face Israel Adesanya for the Middleweight title.
“I think due to all this situation in the middleweight division and due to all this hype about this fight against me, against Chimaev, the next in line is going to be the winner.”
Paulo Costa on next middleweight title contender
While being excited about the fight, Costa also predicted that he would knock out Chimaev in the first round.
🚨| Paulo Costa tells @arielhelwani the UFC have told him that the winner of his fight with Khamzat Chimaev at #UFC294 will be rewarded with a middleweight title shot. 🏆
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) July 26, 2023
He did not say whether the winner would jump Dricus Du Plessis in the queue.
[per The MMA Hour] pic.twitter.com/3ASRKMCOww
Former UFC Champion and current commentator Daniel Cormier also said earlier that Costa vs Chimaev winner might get the middleweight title shot next.
Paulo Costa once got the opportunity to fight for the Middleweight title at the UFC 253 event, but he failed to beat Israel Adesanya. Paulo Costa was booked to face Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 next week, but that bout has now been scrapped as Costa was moved to face Chimaev. Ikram Aliskerov will now face Nassourdine Imavov at the same event now.
Paulo Costa has won three fights and lost two in his recent five bouts. Costa’s recent win came at the UFC 278 event against Luke Rockhold, where he won by unanimous decision.
Khamzat Chimaev is on a 13-fight winning streak, of which six victories have come in the UFC. However, he is away from the octagon since UFC 279 after a win over Kevin Holland where Chimaev botched his weight cut for his original fight against Nate Diaz.
UFC 294 event is scheduled for October 21 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, featuring UFC Lightweight championship bout between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira in the main event.