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The person who got into a physical altercation with Paulo Costa at UFC 294 has been identified as a professional MMA fighter.
On Saturday, October 21, the UFC returned to Abu Dhabi, where Costa was supposed to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event. Unfortunately, the Brazilian middleweight suffered a gruesome elbow injury and was forced to pull out.
Although he wasn’t allowed to fight in the Octagon, Costa still managed to throw some punches during a physical altercation with a previously unidentified person from the crowd.
During the UFC 294 broadcast, a video went viral of ‘Borrachinha’ getting into a physical altercation that escalated into a brawl. It turns out Costa was fighting a professional Russian fighter, as a hardcore MMA fan named “Matysek” identified him as Shovkhal Churchaev.
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Churchaev is a lightweight who holds a professional MMA record of 5-1, with added experience in boxing. The Russian previously went viral for getting into a physical altercation during a podcast interview with an upcoming opponent, where he also reportedly pulled out a gun.
Paulo Costa details what led to the physical altercation at UFC 294
The narrative around Paulo Costa’s brawl at UFC 294 was initially labeled as fans going after him for pulling out against Khamzat Chimaev. Yet, Costa revealed that he was a significant contributor to the situation escalating.
‘Borrachinha’ explained his point of view during a video posted to his YouTube channel:
“Motherf*cker say this, show [his middle finger] to me. So I mock his face, and next time I come in the hallway, I saw him, and I wave to him. And when the guy is far from you, he’s very brave. But when I came, he just came to talk, but he tried ‘F U’ again, so I grab him, and I pull him.”
Costa continued by saying:
“And then some other guys pull, like three other guys pull, jump the fence. So security came, and the guy that showed me his finger, he jumped me as well. I just saw his big forehead and man, I can’t miss that big head. Even with my arm, I bam in the forehead. Straight there. So that’s a good lesson for some that think just because I’m injury I can’t f*ck you around. I will.”
Paulo Costa last fought in August 2022, when he ended a two-fight losing streak by securing a unanimous decision win against Luke Rockhold. It’s unclear when the 32-year-old plans to return to the Octagon.
