Paulo Costa has just revealed he underwent elbow surgery leading up to his UFC 294 fight against Khamzat Chimaev.
Costa and Chimaev will face off in Abu Dhabi on October 21st — that’s in two weeks. According to “Borrachinha,” he went under the knife three weeks ago, giving him a total of five weeks to recover. He shared photos of the post-surgery scar and video showing him struggling to eat watermelon.
“How strong are you?” he wrote on Instagram. “You never really know until you get tested by fire of life. I did surgery 3 weeks ago, the size of her was 10 stitches all over. But I know how tough I am and continue improving and overcoming myself. That didn’t stop me, nothing can stop me. Keep on training and even sparring. I’m so blessed, God gives me exceptional conditions, and surrounds me with great people.”
While this is undoubtedly going to stress out Costa fans hoping to see him defeat Chimaev, the 10-media post ends with footage of Paulo fully extending his rehabbed arm in sparring, hitting the heavy bag with power, and generally seeming just as powerful as ever.
Without knowing what the injury is, it’s hard to tell if he’s rushing back. But let’s be clear: it’s never great to be having surgery five weeks out from one of the biggest fights of your career.
Instagram – Paulo Costa
Costa hasn’t competed since August 2022, when he defeated Luke Rockhold in a bloody war. Since then he became a free agent and almost walked away from the UFC. A new million dollar per fight contract was signed in March, but “Borrachinha” has been stuck on the sidelines waiting for this match with Khamzat in Abu Dhabi. Which raises the point: if you get paid twice as much to fight but the promotion cuts the number of fights you get in half, have you really gotten that much of a raise?
Here’s hoping all the wear and tear Costa has suffered while training for this long-awaited fight doesn’t end up costing him his ability to perform.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
