Paulo Costa fights fan, who leapt from stands to attack him, at UFC 294 after withdrawing from his fight against Khamzat Chimaev following surgery for serious elbow infection
- Plans to reschedule the middleweight bout have yet to be shared by UFC chiefs
- Kamaru Usman steps up on short notice to take on the undefeated Chimaev
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Paulo Costa has been involved in a fight with a fan at UFC 294 after withdrawing from his fight against Khamzat Chimaev following a serious injury to his right elbow.
Footage on to stand.
Costa, who is wearing a white button-down shirt with visible sky blue bandages on his right arm, got so close to the fan, who was wearing a black T-shirt, that he even managed to punch him.
Other fans of the event can be heard expressing shock in the video as they witness what happened on the floor of the Etihad Arena.
“What the f***,” one person said repeatedly while recording the fight.
Footage from Saturday’s UFC 294 on X shows a fan jumping out of nowhere to fight Paulo Costa
Costa, 32, was later given his seat back as the fan was ejected from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi
The fan who tried to fight Costa was later shown away from the arena by security. Costa, on the other hand, regained his front row seat with his girlfriend.
The 32-year-old went under the knife a few weeks before the start of UFC 294 due to an infection in his right elbow.
He revealed on social media that he had undergone surgery to treat bursitis and the fight was immediately suspended.
Borrachinha also admitted that he tried to hide the elbow infection before eventually sharing details about it with his fans on Instagram.
Costa withdrew from his fight against Khamzat Chimaev after suffering an infection in his right arm
Costa had to undergo surgery weeks prior to his fight against Chimaev. He was replaced by Kamaru Usman
Ahead of this weekend’s fight, UFC boss Dana White confirmed Costa would not be in the ring in Abu Dhabi.
As a result, former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman was lined up as Costa’s replacement as he steps in on short notice to fight Chimaev, who has yet to lose any of his MMA fights. He has fought thirteen since 2018.
So far, there are no plans to reschedule Costa’s fight against Chimaev.
The middleweight fighter even dared to troll his former opponent before his fight against Usman, sharing on X on Saturday: “Gourmet Chen Chen is so rookie. I would destroy this cupcake.
‘Easy money for sure.’