UFC middleweight fighter Khamzat Chimaev is not happy with Dana White defending Paulo Costa.
Before being matched against Kamaru Usman for UFC 294, Borz was originally scheduled to fight Paulo Costa. However, due to a serious staph infection, the Brazilian fighter was forced off the card which displeased Chimaev.
Costa had undergone several surgeries to fix his elbow but in the end, he was not medically cleared for the fight. Due to this several claims were made that Paulo is afraid of the Chechen fighter. While the 32-year-old might not be Dana’s favorite fighter on UFC’s roster he made sure to defend the Brazilian and supported his decision.
During the UFC 294 press conference event the CEO revealed that Paulo is seriously injured. He also added that the answer might not sit well with Khamzat but it was the truth. However, Chimaev was mildly displeased with Dana’s response and did not buy into the elbow injury story.
“Don’t ask questions about that shit. The guy went home. He shit himself be honest, brother, he shit himself. That’s why he ran,” said Khamzat Chimaev. Although Khamzat is clearly annoyed by Paulo’s exit from their fight, he has a far more competitive opponent ahead of him.
The Chechen fighter will be fighting former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a title eliminator bout at UFC 294. Meanwhile ‘The Eraser’ is continuously providing updates on his injury on X and seems to recovering pretty well.
Paulo Costa gives an update on his shoulder injury
UFC middleweight fighter Paulo Costa was forced out of his fight with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 due to an elbow injury. A couple of weeks before his fight, the Brazilian fighter revealed that he had undergone elbow surgery during his fight camp. Although the news meant Costa potentially taking his name off the card, he addressed that the fight was still a go.
The 32-year-old kept posting updates about his injury and recovery on X further affirming his claims. Although he mentioned that he was actively training and recovering for the fight, he was replaced by Kamaru Usman on short notice. After being out of the card, Costa has revealed that he has made significant improvements and he can fight Khamzat again.
The recovery going super fast. 🙏I just ask Dana if we could pull usman back . Gourmet Chen Chen looks seemed terribly weakened this conference 😂
If not let him feed me next pic.twitter.com/gv2WmLtdyv
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) October 19, 2023
“The recovery going super fast. I just ask Dana if we could pull Usman back . Gourmet Chen Chen looks seemed terribly weakened this conference . If not let him feed me next,” posted Paulo Costa on X.
Costa’s bout against Khamzat Chimaev was supposed to be his first fight after renewing his contract with UFC. According to the 13-2 fighter, he would have been paid a million for his next few upcoming fights in UFC. Sadly ‘The Eraser’ has been sidelined for now and might have to wait till next year to book a fight.