Khamzat Chimaev has been absent from the UFC since last September. The lengthy absence seemed unusual from Chimaev, a fighter who has typically liked to stay fairly active when not injured between fights.
Since making his debut back in 2020, the Chechen has managed to transform himself into one of the biggest stars in the sport thanks to his intense promos and dominant performances inside the Octagon. Indeed in his short five-fight career, Chimaev has truly taken the MMA world by storm and many fans had been left wondering where he had been and what his plans were the last 10 months or so. Finally, the questions have been answered and Chimaev’s next move has been announced. A move to Middleweight, to fight the Brazilian Paulo Costa this October at UFC 294.
Paulo Costa will face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, Dana White announced. pic.twitter.com/xHBPb3RJ7Q
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 20, 2023
Formerly fighting at Welterweight, Chimaev made headlines last September at UFC 279 where he famously missed weight by 7.5 pounds causing a total reshuffle to the card which saw Chimaev’s original opponent Nate Diaz take on Tony Ferguson and Ferguson’s old partner Kevin Holland be paired with Chimaev. Chimaev would deliver a trademark dominant display and would blast his way through Holland in less than a round. The aftermath of the fight though, saw fewer people talk about the impressive performance and more talk about the wide margin Chimaev had missed weight. This led many to speculate that a move to the Middleweight division was on the cards. A theory which has been proven correct.
Paulo Costa is not without his own issues when it comes to weight and is one of the few fighters who has possibly missed weight by a larger margin than Chimaev. Turning up to a scheduled Middleweight fight with Marvin Vettori weighing as heavy as a Light Heavyweight. He has since fought at Middleweight once where he defeated former champion Luke Rockhold last year. Costa and Chimaev have had their fair share of trash-talking in the past with the two trading barbs numerous times both in person and on social media.
If Chimaev is successful it would be reasonable to assume that a win over Costa would place him in at least a title eliminator if not gaining him an actual title shot itself. Likewise, a win for Costa would do wonders for his standing in the division who, despite beating former champ Rockhold, has not defeated a single fighter currently ranked in the Middleweight top 15. While Chimaev is not ranked either, a win over the Chechen would certainly be more credible than a semi-retired Luke Rockhold.
The pair will square off at UFC 294, a card that has also seen a Lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira announced earlier this week.
