Khamzat Chimaev to Fight Former-Welterweight Champ at UFC 294

A former UFC champion will step in to save the card's co-headlining bout.

Drew Beaupré | Oct 11, 2023

Khamzat Chimaev to Fight Former-Welterweight Champ at UFC 294 /

Paulo Costa has officially been pulled from his UFC 294 matchup with Khamzat Chimaev, but Dana White wasted no time announcing that the promotion has organized an incredible replacement opponent for "Borz".

The UFC’s trip to Abu Dhabi on October 21 has been one of the promotion’s most highly-anticipated events of the year, but it has been marred by numerous cancellations.

The news that Charles Oliveira was out of his fight with Islam Makhachev with an injury was quickly addressed when Alexander Volkanovski stepped up on short notice, but concerns about Costa’s status for the night’s co-main event once again put a dampener on expectations for the card.

Former two-division UFC champion and current color commentator Daniel Cormier sent the UFC rumor mill into a tailspin with his video teasing a replacement opponent for the fight, and despite Costa’s vehement denial about having to pull out of the event, Dana White has now confirmed that former welterweight king Kamaru Usman will step in to meet Chimaev at UFC 294.

ARE YOU SHITTIN ME?!

Can’t wait to get to Abu Dhabi!!!! @ufc @USMAN84kg @KChimaev @alexvolkanovski @MAKHACHEVMMA #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/AAVPRpXeRI
— danawhite (@danawhite) October 11, 2023

“You know what we’ve been dealing with this week – we just got the big fight done yesterday, the highly-anticipated rematch in Abu Dhabi. The main event, Makhachev vs. Volkanovski,” White said. “Now you’ve been waiting for the co-main event. Costa’s hurt, you know all the rumors that are flying around – we got it done. So, the #4-welterweight in the world, Khazmat Chimaev, is moving to middleweight, and he will face the #1-welterweight in the world, Kamaru Usman.”

The new co-main event for UFC 294 is arguably an even bigger matchup than the previously planned bout considering Usman is a former UFC champion.

“The Nigerian Nightmare” claimed the promotion’s welterweight title in 2019 and went on to defend it five times before he was knocked out in the final minute of his rematch with Leon Edwards at UFC 278.

Kamaru Usman Leon Edwards — Usman is coming off back-to-back loses against Leon Edwards. :: (Per Haljestam/USA TODAY Sports)

Usman came up short in his trilogy with Edwards earlier this year, and during his current layoff there have been frequent rumors that he might be considering a move up to middleweight. The 36-year-old has gone back-and-forth with Chimaev on social media on several occasions, and now the pair will finally be able to settle things in the Octagon.

UFC 294 was already set to be one of the promotion’s strongest events in recent memory, but the massive changes that have occurred less than two weeks out from the card have arguably helped to make it one of the biggest combat sports spectacles of the entire year.

Khabib Nurmagomedov Reacts To UFC 294 Main Event Change: "If King Kong Can Make 155, Bring Him Here"

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Published Oct 11, 2023