Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa rumored to be in the works for UFC 294

Khamzat Chimaev is headed back to Middleweight.

Since missing weight by 7.5 pounds for his last time out at UFC 279 in Sept. 2022, Chimaev has indicated he’ll be moving back up in weight. While nothing is official as of yet, UFC President, Dana White, has even stated “Borz” will be departing the Welterweight division where he’s currently ranked at No. 3.

Chimaev’s first opponent atop the 185-pound division is now rumored to be one-time title challenger, Paulo Costa, according to three-time UFC title challenger-turned-media personality, Chael Sonnen. The fight would take place at UFC 294 on Oct. 21, 2023, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates says Sonnen.

“Well, so my understanding is Khamzat is going to fight Paulo Costa,” Sonnen told The MMA Hour (h/t MMA News). “They’ve even got a date. They’re gonna go out [to] Abu Dhabi, that’s a co-main event — very relevant, they’ll be there for three rounds instead of five — Islam [Makhachev] on the top of the bill. Now the relevance to Islam on the top of the bill is Islam’s gonna fight the winner of Charles [Oliveira] and Benny [Dariush], and that’s still three weeks away. So that means the card that I’m referencing out in Abu Dhabi and the placement of co-main event, we’re four, five months away in a best-case scenario. So it looks like we’re gonna keep those two on ice.”

Despite his epic weight miss ahead of his last fight, Chimaev remained as dominant as ever, submitting Kevin Holland with a first-round d’arce choke ( watch highlights), absorbing zero strikes. Costa, on the other hand, recently reached a new deal with the promotion after his Feb. 2023 Robert Whittaker match up fell through.

Costa got back in the win column with his last win, defeating Luke Rockhold via a Fight of the Night unanimous decision ( watch highlights) at UFC 278 — one month before Chimaev’s Holland win.

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’GARDEN STATE’ SHOWDOWN! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Sat., June 1, 2024, featuring Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, locking horns with 155-pound legend and No. 4-seeded contender, Dustin Poirier, in the pay-per-view (PPV) main event of the evening. UFC 302’s co-headliner features an action-packed, 185-pound scrap between No. 1-ranked contender, Sean Strickland, squaring off with Brazilian beefcake, Paulo Costa, in a five-round special attraction. UFC 302’s PPV main card ( see it here) will also feature Kevin Holland vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk, Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov and so much more. It’s must-watch action! UFC 302 start time scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET (Prelims) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV).

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 294 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET, before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 294: “Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.