BREAKING: Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev reportedly in the works for UFC 294

It seems Paulo Costa may have to brush up on his grappling skills. It was recently reported that ‘Borrachinha’ has pulled out of his fight against Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291. The news originated from sources based in Aliskerov’s camp less than a fortnight before the bout.

The stunning report by @judobetter995 also suggested that a matchup between Aliskerov and middleweight contender Roman Dolidze is in the works. It seems the Georgian has agreed to replace Costa on short notice. The news was later re-shared by the popular MMA-based Twitter handle @SpinninBackfist. 

In the latest twist in this story, Costa has seemingly signed a contract to fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. According to a report by @MMAmelotto via @SpinninBackfist, the UFC is working on a middleweight contest between Costa and Chimaev for the October 21 card. 

True to his moniker of ‘Meme God, ’ the Brazilian fighter has also hinted at this exciting fight happening. Paulo Costa seemingly confirmed the matchup by communicating via cryptic replies, emojis, and memes. In one of his latest tweets, Costa posted a close-up of his face and  referenced his nickname for Khamzat Chimaev in the caption that read:

“They are feeding that guy with gourmet chenchen.”

Khamzat Chimaev seemingly has a “better opponent” than Paulo Costa in mind

Khamzat Chimaev has finally responded to the rumors of him fighting Paulo Costa at UFC 294. 

As mentioned above, Costa was slated to face Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 but has allegedly pulled out in order to be able to fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October. The Brazilian middleweight later spent a considerable amount of time on Twitter, strongly hinting at the same. However, ‘Borz’ isn’t interested in facing Costa anymore. 

In a recent tweet, the grappling phenom seemingly dismissed rumors of a Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev bout and claimed he has a better opponent than ‘Borrachinha.’ He wrote:

“@buratinacostaso you are a bum now, I have a better opponent.”

While Chimaev insists that he has a stronger opponent than Costa, it appears that they will still face off against each other since they have been exchanging verbal jabs for a while now. However, it’s difficult to fully trust that Chimaev or Costa will be fighting soon until the contract is signed.