Paulo Costa Fights Unranked Russian Phenom At UFC 291

Costa will be risking his Top 5 middleweight ranking when he fights for the first time in nearly a year at UFC 291.

Drew Beaupré | May 16, 2023

(via Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Paulo Costa will finally return to the Octagon when he meets Ikram Aliskerov as part of the main card for UFC 291 on July 29.

“The Eraser” has seemingly been close to stepping back into the cage on several occasions during the last year, but contract negotiations with the UFC resulted in a number of proposed fights being scrapped. Now with the Brazilian seemingly satisfied with the new deal he signed, Costa was included as part of Dana White’s massive slate of fight announcements for UFC 291 and UFC 292.

THIS CARD IS STACKED 🍿 #UFC291 pic.twitter.com/GttH1FNANb
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 16, 2023

Costa is a former middleweight title challenger and currently sits at #5 in the division’s rankings, so accepting a matchup with the unranked Aliskerov could be a significant risk for him. Aliskerov made his UFC debut at UFC 288 with a brutal knockout of Phil Hawes, and the promotion seems interested in the Russian’s potential considering the only loss of his career came at the hands of the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev.

Whatever the opponent and potential risks involved, finally seeing “The Eraser” back in the Octagon will certainly be a welcome sight for MMA fans. The 32-year-old was undefeated prior to his failed bid to claim Israel Adesanya’s middleweight title at UFC 253, and after suffering another loss against Marvin Vettori he got back into the win column with a Fight of the Night performance against Luke Rockhold at UFC 278.

The middleweight bout between Costa and Aliskerov is just one of a number of fantastic bouts set for the UFC 291 main card.

The night’s co-main event will see former UFC Middleweight Champion Alex Pereira make his light heavyweight debut against another former titleholder in Jan Błachowicz, plus the UFC’s vacant BMF title will be on the line in the main event when Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje meet for the second time after their instant classic at UFC on Fox 29 in 2018.

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Published May 16, 2023