Famous Costa
UFC 294 has another significant change – with another high-profile substitution stepping in.
Previous UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will presently battle Khamzat Chimaev in the co-headliner of the card Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi, UFC president Dana White reported Wednesday via virtual entertainment. Chimaev should confront Paulo Costa, however he had elbow a medical procedure three weeks prior and was not cleared.
ESPN has Usman positioned No. 2 on the planet at welterweight with Chimaev at No. 4. This session will happen at middleweight, where it was initially booked when Costa was the rival.
Costa posted via online entertainment that he would have rather not removed from the session.
Usman (20-3) has not battled since a title rematch misfortune to Leon Edwards at UFC 286 in Spring. The Nigerian-conceived warrior who trains out of Florida and Colorado lost the belt to Edwards in August 2022. Usman, 36, was on a 15-battle series of wins before the two losses, the second longest series of wins in UFC history. ESPN has Usman positioned No. 6 on the planet on its pound-for-pound list.
Chimaev (12-0) is 6-0 in the UFC with five completions. The Chechen-conceived contender has battled at both middleweight and welterweight in the UFC. Chimaev, 29, is viewed as one of the most over the top fearsome anticipated contenders in the UFC and a potential future hero in either weight class.
The UFC 294 headliner will be Islam Makhachev risking his UFC lightweight title against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. That battle met up Tuesday when Charles Oliveira, the previous lightweight winner, supported a slice in preparing and needed to pull out from the Makhachev battle.
