Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa winner to get rewarded with UFC title shot against Israel Adesanya, fans react 

As recently as last week, it seemed like surging UFC superstar Khamzat Chimaev would still be without a fight booking for the foreseeable future.

‘Borz’ last fought in September 2022, dispatching Kevin Holland by submission, but despite a number of rumors, his next bout was never signed.

That changed last week when it was confirmed that Chimaev will be facing off with former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi this October, with Costa’s initially planned fight with Ikram Aliskerov being scrapped.

Now, though, this fascinating fight has seemingly had another twist added to it.

Earlier today, it was reported that during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, ‘Borrachinha’ had claimed that he’d been told by the UFC that the winner of his clash with Khamzat Chimaev would be rewarded with a middleweight title short.

Unsurprisingly, this news was met by a strong reaction by fans on Twitter, particularly considering that neither Costa nor Chimaev are currently ranked in the division’s top five.

User @NevaChaIked, for instance, seemed horrified at the idea that either man could leapfrog No.1 ranked Dricus du Plessis, something Costa seemed unable to confirm.

“No way they jump DDP, he beat rob, and beat him decisively.”

@jmacyyourlife seemed relatively happy with the idea of Khamzat Chimaev receiving a title shot, but seemed less keen on Paulo Costa being granted a second fight with current champion Israel Adesanya.

“If Khamzat wins decisively I think 100% he gets it, I think Costa to dominate or win fast to have a chance to get the rematch, but likely DDP gets it still if Costa wins.”

User @Luke_MCFC suggested a conspiracy theory, claiming the UFC were simply trying to force Du Plessis into fighting at UFC 293 in Australia. User @MalteseInterfan quickly tried to shoot this down, however.

“They’re doing this to force DDP to take the fight in Australia.”

“Not necessarily. Fighters have won title eliminators and waited a year. Pantoja and Jiri come to mind. Not saying that the UFC wouldn’t do it if they basically forced Aljo to take the fight in Boston.”

User @hafafc outright called the plan a “joke”, while @abscondedllama and @on_ernie couldn’t look past the idea of Adesanya vs. du Plessis.

“This is a joke! Is Costa wins he most definitely won’t, but of course dana wants to fast track khamzet (sic) for no reason.”

“No one’s jumping Duplesis (sic) except Sean and that’s purely because of the timing.”

“As soon as Dricus is healthy, he’s the guy 1000%. Race war sells just as good as it always did.”

Perhaps the most telling comment, though, came from @Shotokhan1.

“The UFC keeps promising title shots to everyone and then changes plans...”

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Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa: What did Daniel Cormier say about the fight?

Since it was announced last week, the fight between former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa and hot prospect Khamzat Chimaev has been the talk of the MMA world.

Costa is now claiming that the winner of the fight will be given a middleweight title shot. This was actually first touched upon, though, by UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier.

‘DC’ stated that if Khamzat Chimaev were to beat ‘Borrachinha’, he’d have earned himself a title fight at 185lbs – although he did seem to stress that he’d be the No.1 contender to fight the winner of an Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus du Plessis clash.

Watch Daniel Cormier discuss Chimaev vs. Costa below.