Paulo Costa set to face rising star nicknamed ‘The Hulk’ in UFC 326 Octagon return

Former UFC title challenger Paulo Costa will face a rising star when he returns to the Octagon at UFC 326 next year.

The UFC middleweight division is in a peculiar spot with Khamzat Chimaev sitting atop the throne.

Chimaev, who defeated Dricus du Plessis to win the UFC middleweight title at UFC 319, has teased a potential move to light heavyweight after defending his title at least once. Nassourdine Imavov is the consensus No. 1 middleweight contender, but Chimaev has repeatedly dismissed fighting Imavov due to their history.

Chimaev’s ongoing hiatus opens the doors for other contenders to emerge, including Anthony Hernandez, who will face Sean Strickland at UFC Houston next year. After a win at UFC 318, Paulo Costa called out Chimaev, after months of bad blood between the two middleweights.

If Costa wants to move one step closer to potentially fighting Chimaev, he’ll first have to pass a formidable test, as reported earlier this week.

Paulo Costa vs. Brunno Ferreira in the works for UFC 326

As first reported by Brazilian MMA journalist Leo Guimaraes, Costa will return on March 7th at UFC 326 in Las Vegas against surging middleweight contender Brunno Ferreira.

Ferreira (15-2-0) returns to the Octagon after three-straight wins, including most recently defeating Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision. The talented Brazilian missed weight ahead of UFC 323 for the first time in his career.

Ferreira has turned the page on his previous loss to Abus Magomedov in October, which marked the first loss of his career in the cage. He went on to submit Jackson McVey and Armen Petrosyan with back-to-back armbars.

Costa has lost two of his last three UFC fights but got back on track with a win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318. He lost back-to-back fights to former champions Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker, entering the Kopylov bout.

Costa is looking to reclaim the form that saw him become one of the top middleweight contenders in the world, with wins over the likes of Uriah Hall, Johny Hendricks, and Yoel Romero.