UFC 294 was dealt with a second blow in two days as the event lost one-half of its co-main event. However, all is not lost as the replacement fighter as announced by the UFC CEO is a former champion who was once hailed the pound-for-pound king.
Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa were the initial bookings for the co-main event of UFC 294. The matchup was highly anticipated mainly due to their online feud and altercation preluding UFC 279 at the UFC Performance Institute. With the matchup change, the promotion now has lost two fighters from the main and co-main event in the span of two days.
Kamaru Usman vs Khamzat Chimaev is official for UFC 294
Dana White recently announced the replacement fighter to face Khamzat Chimaev at the co-main event of UFC 294. White’s announcement sent the combat sports community into a frenzy. The replacement is none other than the former welterweight champion and former pound-for-pound king, Kamaru Usman a.k.a. The Nigerian Nightmare.
With the announcement, the middleweight matchup at the co-main event became a fight between top-ranked welterweights moving up. Usman is ranked 1st and Chimaev 4th in the division where Leon Edwards reigns supreme. Interestingly, Edwards was scheduled to face Chimaev, but the matchup did not materialize multiple times. Dana White confirmed to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports that the winner of the UFC 294 co-main event will get a title shot.
White, the previous day was not in the know of whether Costa would be fighting in Abu Dhabi. At the same time, Gilbert “Durinho” Burns shared training footage of Kamaru Usman training thus insinuating that he is getting ready for a fight. Moreover, Daniel Cormier insinuated about the matchup on his YouTube Channel.
The UFC CEO, the previous day had announced Alexander Volkanovski as the replacement for the injured Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 294. Oliveira had to pull out of the fight due to a gnarly cut he suffered in sparring in Brazil. White blasted Oliveira’s team for leaking the news of the injury before the UFC could.
Paulo Costa out of UFC 294 co-main
Paulo Costa is out of UFC 294 and is replaced by none other than Kamaru Usman. Costa, who, 5 weeks before underwent surgery for bursitis contracted a staph infection. Costa on social media confirmed his absence and said that the doctors are pulling him out of the highly anticipated matchup.
“Borrachina” had earlier been adamant that he would not be pulling out of the fight. However, a staph infection contracted on his elbow has forced him out. The Brazilian fighter and the Chechen-Swedish fighter had intense animosity and were vowing to dismantle each other at UFC 294.
Chimaev and Costa famously had an altercation at the UFC PI preluding Chimaev’s fight at UFC 279. This altercation was the storyline behind booking the fight at UFC 294. The chances of the fight happening again after UFC 294 are not bleak and the fans could see it in the future.
The sixth-ranked middleweight last fought at UFC 278 against Luke Rockhold. Once undefeated, the Brazilian has not been the same since his title fight loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. It remains to be seen what the promotion would do with Costa post his return to action.
Will Kamaru Usman defeat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294? Comment below!
