Dana White says the Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa fight is now in jeopardy for UFC 294
UFC president Dana White has confirmed that the Khamzat Chimaev vs Paulo Costa fight is now in jeopardy for UFC 294.
Just a few hours ago, it was announced that Alexander Volkanovski will be replacing Charles Oliveira in a rematch against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. Now, in addition to that, there are rumors circulating regarding the well-being of Paulo Costa. The Brazilian announced recently that he had elbow surgery just a matter of weeks ago, leaving many to wonder whether or not he’d be able to make it to fight night.
In his post-Contender Series media scrum, Dana White had the chance to clear a few things up when asked about the status of the co-main event.
White confirms Chimaev vs Costa is in danger
“Yeah, that’s possible [Chimaev vs Costa being off].”
“Very soon [they’ll know for sure], very soon. Unless another f***ing big mouth pops up out of somewhere, you know what I mean? So, yeah. Hopefully within a couple hours I’ll have an answer for ya.”
White was then asked whether or not they have a backup option in place if the bout falls apart.
“We’re talking to a couple of people right now.”
At this point, it certainly seems as if there’s some kind of curse surrounding this UFC 294 card as we get closer and closer to the event. Hopefully, there’s some way in which this fight can be kept on the card, so long as Costa is close to 100%.
Do you believe Paulo Costa vs Khamzat Chimaev will still go ahead as part of the UFC 294 card? If not, who would you like to see replace Costa in the contest? Let us know your thoughts on all of this, BJPENN Nation!
