Video | Paulo Costa issues statement after being involved in UFC 294 brawl

By Chris Taylor - October 21, 2023

Former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa has issued a statement after being involved in a brawl at UFC 294.

Paulo Costa, UFC

Costa (14-2 MMA) was originally scheduled to compete at today’s UFC 294 event in Abu Dhabi against undefeated sensation Khamzat Chimaev (13-0 MMA).

However, after undergoing elbow surgery just a couple of weeks prior to the event, the Brazilian bomber was forced to withdraw from the card entirely due to ineligibility.

Despite not being able to participate on the pay-per-view fight card, Paulo Costa was still in attendance for today’s fights.

During the main card extravaganza, a man leaped from the stands and attempted to attached ‘Borrachinha’. This caused a brawl to ensue and resulted in Costa having to defend himself.

Check out the footage of the wild incident below:

Thankfully security was able to intervene before anyone got seriously hurt.

Shortly following the wild incident, Paulo Costa took to Twitter where he issued the following statement:

“Don’t mess with me lil chenchen, I send you back home with smack straight in ur big forehead 😂😂 my right arm is working already 🔥🧃🤜🔪”

Costa has not competed inside of the Octagon since scoring a unanimous decision win over Luke Rockhold on the main card of UFC 278 back in August of 2022.

The hard-hitting Brazilian was forced to sit and watch on as his slated UFC 294 opponent Khamzat Chimaev scored a majority decision victory over former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in today’s co-main event.

Who would you like to see Paulo Costa fight in his next Octagon appearance? Share your ideas in the comment section on social media.