The
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s marquee card in Abu Dhabi has
suffered its second major change in the past 24 hours.
Advertisement
After the scheduled main event of
UFC 294 fell through on Wednesday when Charles
Oliveira withdrew from his scheduled rematch with lightweight
champ Islam
Makhachev, the co-main event has also undergone a change with
Paulo
Costa (14-2) not being cleared to compete due to a staph infection on his elbow. In place of
“Borrachinha,” former welterweight champion Kamaru
Usman (20-3) will step up on 10 days’ notice for his
middleweight debut against Khamzat
Chimaev. UFC CEO Dana White made the official announcement on
Instagram.
Usman has not competed since UFC 286 in March, when came up short
in a bid to win his title back from Leon
Edwards. Prior to the back-to-back losses to Edwards, Usman had
enjoyed a 15-fight win streak in the promotion including a long
reign atop the welterweight division. Meanwhile, the upcoming bout
will mark Chimaev’s official move back to 185 pounds after “Borz”
missed the welterweight limit by 7.5 pounds for a scheduled clash
against Nate Diaz last
September leading to a reshuffling of the entire card.
Following the UFC’s announcement regarding Costa’s withdrawal and
replacement, The Brazilian revealed that he’ll have to undergo
another procedure for staph infection while thanking the Las
Vegas-based promotion for doing everything in their power to get
him in fighting shape. “Borrachinha” wrote on Instagram:
“Unfortunately, I had to do a new surgical procedure and I’m
hospitalized, I will need another surgery on Friday. On September
18th I had my first surgery to remove the bursa and clean the
infection [staph], with the full support of the UFC here in Abu
Dhabi. Even after the surgery, we did everything possible and
impossible so that I could stay in the fight. However, this week
the infection returned, and I needed a surgical procedure again.
I’m sorry for the fans, I know this fight was highly anticipated,
and I’m sorry for my team and for myself, as I’m the most
interested in fighting, after all, it takes months of training and
money invested to be here. I would really like to thank those who
support me and especially the UFC, for all the support given to me
from the first surgery until now. They put me in the best hospital
with the best doctors, daily monitoring by doctors here and Doctor
D [UFC doctor] I hope to be back soon and that this fight can be
held in the near future.”
UFC 294 takes place on Oct. 21 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu
Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The 13-fight card is scheduled to be
headlined by a lightweight title rematch between Makhachev and
featherweight champ Alexander
Volkanovski, with the new Usman-Chimaev middleweight bout as
the co-main event. The main card will be broadcast on pay-per-view
through ESPN+ in the United States, while the prelims stream on
ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass.