Costa challenged Chimayev

Paulo Costa, a former challenger for the UFC middleweight championship belt, has decided to challenge Khamzat Chimaev.

"I think Chimaev is the perfect fighter to bring the old Paulo back into the octagon. Bring back my aggressiveness, bring back my ferocity. I'm looking forward to it because I need that redemption. I need the fight, and Chimaev is the perfect opponent. He looks a little crazy, so it's going to be a really fun fight. It would be ideal to have this fight in Abu Dhabi because we had to do it and Hamzat can't fight in the US or in Europe. According to my information, which came from people from his team, he was affected by the sanctions imposed on Russia and all those who are close to it."

Chimaev and Costa were supposed to fight in October last year, but the Brazilian withdrew from the fight because of health problems.