Paulo Costa recently revealed that he had surgery on his arm not too long ago ahead of his fight against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 on October 21st in the co-main event. Just one day after this revelation, Dana White said that the fight between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev could now be in jeopardy with the UFC matchmakers scrambling to find a short-notice replacement.
Dana White says “it's possible” that Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev is off and the UFC is “talking to a couple people” to replace Costa. pic.twitter.com/6IEQEdyma6
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) October 11, 2023
There certainly will not be a line of potential opponents chomping at the bit to take this matchup. Chimaev is one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC and he currently isn't even ranked in the middleweight division. A fight against Chimaev would seemingly be a lose-lose type of situation but some fighters will be willing to take the risk for a potential chance at fighting for the title if they were to win.
Dana White and the matchmakers have their work cut out for them, even one of their middleweight contenders Marvin Vettori has already declined the fight. With that said, I put my matchmaking hat on and take a look at three potential matchups for the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev for next weekend's co-main event at UFC 294.
Jared Cannonier
There were rumblings that Jared Cannonier was going to be the original opponent for Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 but that nipped in the bud when word came out that it was Paulo Costa who got the fight. Cannonier also stated that he would indeed fight Chimaev if there was a title shot looming with a potential win. With there being a potential rematch between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland before any other middleweight title fight gets booked even with a win for Cannonier here would put him on the outside looking in.
With that said, Cannonier could be the next man up in that scenario if Adesanya takes too much time off or if there is a potential injury. This fight would certainly have title implications for whoever wins as this would be a big win for Chimaev's return to the middleweight division, even bigger than a win over Paulo Costa. It remains to be seen if Cannonier can make the 185 lbs mark in less than two weeks and is willing to fly to Abu Dhabi to make this happen.
Robert Whittaker
One way to get a bad taste of defeat out of your mouth is to go out there and beat the biggest prospect in your division on short notice. That is what is at stake for Robert Whittaker if he could take this fight and go out to Abu Dhabi to get the win. With Dricus Du Plessis injured and essentially in the doghouse for not accepting the fight at UFC 293 a win for Whittaker over Chimaev could propel him into title contention after the potential rematch between Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya.
A fight against Whittaker would give Chimaev a fight against a top-ranked opponent and a former champion. A win against Whittaker for Chimaev would put him at the top of the heap for a title shot or the very least a number-one contender fight against Dricus Du Plessis while we await the winner of Strickland vs. Adesnaya. This fight would certainly elevate UFC 294 but it will be a little tricky to get Whittaker to take this fight on short notice just getting knocked out back in July.
Jack Hermansson
Jack Hermansson is sitting in the top 10 of the middleweight rankings and is looking for an opponent after having to withdraw from his June fight against Brandon Allen due to injury. Now, he is fully healthy and ready to fight and this would be a prime opportunity to take this fight on short notice against the top prospect in the middleweight division. This will be a big payday as well as a chance for Hermansson to get a big win on his resume that could propel him up the middleweight rankings putting him in a position to get another big fight in the near future.
As for Chimaev, he gets to fight a top-10 ranked opposition that has faced against high-level caliber of opponents throughout their career. These two are also familiar with one another competing against each other in a wrestling match not that long ago. This would certainly be an exciting and closely contested fight that would push Chimaev in his new weight class as he asserts himself as one of the top contenders in the division.
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