SUMMARY
- Previously, Paulo Costa had to pull out of the Khamzat Chimaev fight due to an injury.
- Khamzat was even dissatisfied with Dana White for defending Costa's injury during the UFC 294 press conference.
Paulo Costa is a Brazilian professional MMA fighter who currently competes in the middleweight division of the UFC. Paulo Costa, aka ‘The Eraser,’ made his MMA professional debut in Brazil in 2012. In March 2017, he finally made his UFC professional debut and went on to win six of his subsequent eight UFC fights. The 32-year-old fighter is currently ranked #6 in the UFC middleweight rankings.
In all six of his UFC wins, The Eraser has finished off his opponents four times. That is a testament to the tremendous power he possesses. There is one chip on his shoulder, which has been the biggest talking point for his haters. That is the fact that he hasn’t impressed in fights against opponents who are ranked higher than him or those who are, as people like to call them, top-tier fighters.
Paulo Costa has a record of 14-2-0 in MMA, and those two losses were against Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori. Both could be considered ‘top-tier’ in the middleweight division. So when Costa was pitted against the unbeaten Khamzat ‘Borz’ Chimaev, fans of the Brazilian were hyped to see him take on a high-quality fighter to prove his haters wrong inside the octagon.
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But unfortunately, the fight that was supposed to take place on October 21, 2023, at UFC 294 never did. Costa pulled out of the showdown against Chimaev mere days before the event in Abu Dhabi.
Paulo Costa’s injury that caused him to pull out of the Khamzat Chimaev showdown
Paulo Costa pulled out of the fight against Khamzat Chimaev on October 11, 2023. That was only 10 days before his fight at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in the co-main event at UFC 294. The reason behind Costa’s decision to pull out was a graphic staph infection that he suffered just days prior.
The staph infection on the Brazilian’s right elbow had to be operated on with urgency. It was this surgery that made it impossible for him to recover in time for the fight. Denying his fans an opportunity to watch him go head-to-head against Borz inside the octagon. The Brazilian fighter and sources around him further revealed the extent of his injuries through social media.
And the images were quite gruesome, to say the least. With his elbow practically being holed in due to the staph infection, there was no way Costa could have fought just days after the surgery. Even Dana White defended Costa’s withdrawal from the fight. Borz was even dissatisfied with the UFC CEO for defending Costa’s injury during the UFC 294 press conference.
Paulo Costa is set to make a return to the octagon after almost 18 months
But now, with the staph injury and the surgery all in the past, Paulo Costa is set to make his UFC return in 2024. It will be a very exciting fight for the fans. ‘Borrachinha’ will be going up against former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the co-main event at UFC 298. The British fighter is currently the #3 ranked middleweight in the UFC.
The event is scheduled to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on February 17, 2024. It will be just 3 days to 18 months since the day Paulo Costa last fought in the UFC. In his last fight, Costa won via unanimous decision against Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 on October 20, 2022. His pulling out of the Chimaev fight meant that he would go on to be sidelined until now.
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The fight against Robert Whittaker provides Paulo Costa with the perfect opportunity to come back to the UFC with a bang. A win against the Englishman will most definitely push his case closer to a second shot at the title. It will be a true test of his mettle, as Costa hasn’t won yet against an opponent of Whittaker’s caliber. His fans would most certainly wish for him to win on his return to make a statement.
With the state in which the UFC’s middleweight division is right now, no one can predict how important a win on February 17 might turn out to be. The division has seen the championship belt change owners four times in the period in which Paulo Costa was sidelined. Costa will be gunning for a shot at the belt’s ownership with a win at UFC 298.