Paulo Costa Denies Pullout Rumors Amidst UFC 294 Disaster

Paulo Costa has vehemently denied rumors of his withdrawal from UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.

"Borrachinha" is slated to square off against Chechen terror Khamzat Chimaev on October 21, but a cloud of uncertainty loomed over the bout when Costa disclosed that he had undergone surgery weeks before his scheduled appearance.

Costa showcased his fight-threatening surgery in a post on X, and explained that he had been in Dubai for weeks already and wasn't backing out of the fight.

However, following Charles Oliveira's withdrawal from the main event, some major outlets have been sharing the news that Costa has also withdrawn from the event; news that simply isn't true according to the Brazilian slugger:

"I'm not pulling out [of] this fight anyway, let me fight this f*** gourmet Chen Chen. I am here in Abu Dhabi already and prepared motherf******," Costa explained in a post on X.

"[The] whole UFC staff knows [about the surgery] since day 1," Costa continued. "... Once you're admitted to the hospital they need to reach USADA and everybody knows everything about you."

Costa elaborated, "I did surgery and [I'm] still training to fight after that and everyone knows it. I really want [to] smoke that guy."

Costa's language leaves a lot to be desired. Whilst he denied pulling out of the fight, he also unwittingly implied that he's not being given the choice to continue, by saying "let me fight" and "I really want [to] smoke that guy".

Hopefully this is just lost in translation and the co-main event can continue as planned.