Who will replace Paulo Costa against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294? Top-ranked middleweight posts cryptic message suggesting last-minute replacement

While Khamzat Chimaev was looking forward to settling his rivalry against Paulo Costa once and for all at UFC 294 on October 21, 'Borz' will have to wait longer for his opportunity to fight the Brazilian.

It was recently reported that Costa has been forced to withdraw from their bout after undergoing elbow surgery for a bursitis infection that left him with ten stitches on his right arm about three weeks ago.

While 'Borrachinha' was eager to fight Chimaev just five weeks after surgery, it seems that's no longer a possibility. Dana White later revealed that the promotion was looking for suitable middleweight replacements for 'Borz' and reportedly even approached Marvin Vettori to step in on an 11-day notice.

Given that Khamzat Chimaev is undefeated in his professional MMA career and is widely considered among the most dangerous grapplers in the UFC, perhaps it's unsurprising that 'The Italian Dream' declined the short-notice fight.

While the UFC continues its search for an opponent for Chimaev, it seems No.7-ranked middleweight contender Roman Dolidze wants to put his name in the hat.

The 35-year-old Georgian recently took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted a cryptic message, seemingly volunteering to replace Paulo Costa. He wrote:

"Khamzat? [sand clock emoji] #UFC294."

C.C - Dolidze X profile

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Khamzat Chimaev next fight: Fans react to Roman Dolidze potentially replacing Paulo Costa on short notice

It seems the idea of Roman Dolidze potentially replacing Paulo Costa to face Khazmat Chimaev at UFC 294 is appealing to many fans.

Dolidze is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Marvin Vettori at UFC 286, which snapped an impressive four-fight win streak. On the other hand, Chimaev last dispatched Kevin Holland via first-round submission at UFC 279 in September 2022.

Given that Khamzat Chimaev hasn't competed in over a year, many were eager to see him take on an opponent as big as Costa. However, with 'Borrachinha' seemingly out of the picture, fans want 'The Caucasian' to go up against the grappling phenom.

Many flocked to the comments section of Roman Dolidze's recent cryptic call-out tweet and expressed their eagerness to see him fight Chimaev. One fan praised Dolidze's courage and wrote:

"Baller move if accepted."

Another user wrote:

"Listen, I think this might be the best option out there."

One user iterated:

"That's a dope replacement."

Another user wrote:

"Absolute no brainer. Make it happen @ufc."

Check out some more fan reactions below:

Screenshots from @romandolidzeufc on X