Daniel Cormier believes a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 294 will earn Khamzat Chimaev a middleweight title shot

Daniel Cormier believes a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 294 will earn Khamzat Chimaev a middleweight title shot.

UFC 294 takes place on Saturday, October 21st at the Etihad Arena in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

Paulo Costa (14-2 MMA) will face the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev (12-0 MMA) in a middleweight bout.

‘Borz’ has not fought since September of 2022 when he defeated Kevin Holland at UFC 279.

‘Borrachinha’ last fought and defeated Luke Rockhold (16-6 MMA) in August of last year at UFC 278.

Daniel Cormier, speaking on his YouTube channel, believes Chimaev is deserving of a title shot should he be able to defeat Costa on October 21st:

“I don’t understand why Khamzat Chimaev has not fought again since he fought Kevin Holland. There’s more to this story than we know. Maybe I’ll do some digging to try and uncover it, but he’s fighting against Paulo Costa.”

Continuing Cormier said:

“If he beats Paulo Costa, Khamzat Chimaev will have earned himself a title fight at 185 pounds. And I don’t think anyone can disagree with that. I don’t believe that beating Gilbert Burns, going up, and now beating Paulo Costa doesn’t get you a championship opportunity. It makes you the No. 1 contender between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis.”

Reflecting on the Chimaev vs Burns fight, Daniel Cormier concluded (h/t MMAJunkie):

“We thought that the Gilbert Burns fight was going to teach a lot about Khamzat, and it did. It taught us that he’s as good as they come. It also taught us that regardless of the level of competition, this young man is going to compete the same way – and he did.”

“He won a very competitive fight against Gilbert Burns, but Gilbert Burns’ willingness to stand in the fire and fight him is what made it a more competitive fight. Now he’s got a bigger guy in Paulo Costa who’s willing to do the same thing.”

Chimaev defeated Gilbert Burns (22-6 MMA) by unanimous decision in April of last year at UFC 273.

Who do you think will be the victor when Chimaev meets up with Costa this October?

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