Tag Archives: Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa to Fight Undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294

Posted on by
Reply

Paulo Costa is switching opponents…

The 32-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist will face undefeated Khamzat Chimaev in the Octagon at 185 pounds at UFC 294 on October 21 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, UFC president Dana White has announced.

Paulo CostaCosta and Chimaev are two of the most popular fighters in the UFC middleweight division.

The card will be headlined by a lightweight title rematch between champion Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. It’s unclear if the Chimaev-Costa bout will be the co-main event. 

Costa had been scheduled to fight Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 next week in Salt Lake City, but was pulled from that fight to face Chimaev. Aliskerov will now fight at UFC 294 against Nassourdine Imavov.

ESPN has Chimaev ranked No. 4 in the world at welterweight, while Costa is rated No. 7 at middleweight.

Chimaev (12-0) has not fought since September, a first-round submission of Kevin Holland at UFC 279. He missed weight before what would have been a fight with Nate Diaz on that card before being given Holland as a replacement.

The Chechen-born fighter is 6-0 in the UFC with five finishes. Chimaev, 29, holds the UFC modern record for the fastest three-fight winning streak (66 days).

Costa (14-2) is coming off a unanimous decision over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 in August 2022. The Brazilian fighter snapped a two-fight losing streak with that victory. Costa has won six of his eight UFC fights with the lone losses coming to Marvin Vettori and champion Israel Adesanya in a title fight.

Paulo Costa ThisClose to Closing Deal to Fight Jared Cannonier in August

Posted on by
Reply

Paulo Costa could be back in the Octagon this summer…

The UFC is close to finalizing a middleweight main event between the 30-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Jared Cannonier for a UFC Fight Night in August, according to UFC president Dana White.

Paulo Costa

Contracts haven’t been signed yet, but the 185-pound contest is expected to become official shortly.

The fight will headline UFC Fight Night on August 21 at a location to be determined, according to White.

Costa (13-1) has not fought since he came up short in a title bid against Israel Adesanya in September. The 30-year-old from Brazil was scheduled to face Robert Whittaker last month but was forced to withdraw because of medical issues.

Cannonier (13-5) is coming off a loss to Whittaker in a three-round non-title fight in October. The loss snapped a three-fight winning streak for Cannonier.

The bout figures to have a major impact on the middleweight division.

Adesanya, the current champion, is scheduled to defend his title against Marvin Vettori in June.

Paulo Costa to Take On Defending Champion Israel Adesanya in UFC Middleweight Title Fight

Posted on by
Reply

Paulo Costa is getting his title chance…

Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight title against the 29-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artiston September 19, according to ESPN.

Paulo Costa

This weekend, Costa tweeted: “The fight is on folks!” News of the fight was first reported by Combate.

The fight, which will take place at UFC 253, doesn’t have a location yet. It probably will take place in either Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi, but the promotion hasn’t finalized those plans just yet because of the coronavirus pandemic, sources said.

Originally, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje was targeted for September 19. Though no official determination has been made regarding that fight, sources say the current plan is to headline the card with Adesanya vs. Costa and then do Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje for the lightweight title later in the fall.

Adesanya (19-0) successfully defended the middleweight title for the first time in March when he defeated Yoel Romero via unanimous decision. That fight was supposed to be against his bitter rival, Costa, however, Costa was forced out of the fight after suffering a torn left biceps.

Costa (13-0), most recently defeated Romero via unanimous decision in August 2019.

The duo have been entangled in a war of words since before Adesanya won the middleweight title in October.

The fight will mark just the second time in UFC history that two undefeated males fight for an undisputed title. The first time was back in 2008 when champion Rashad Evans defended the light heavyweight title against Lyoto Machida at UFC 98.