Breaking: Chael Sonnen reveals Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa in the works for UFC in Abu Dhabi
Chael Sonnen revealed some interesting news regarding a middleweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa. The fight is apparently in the works for the UFC's return to Abu Dhabi later this year.
During his appearance on The MMA Hour, Sonnen spoke about the status of the middleweight division after what transpired in the main event of UFC 287, which saw Israel Adesanya knock out Alex Pereira to regain the middleweight championship.
When asked what the promotion should do with Chimaev, who will be competing at 185lbs going forward, Sonnen stated that he heard there are already plans for him.
He said:
"So, my understanding is Khamzat is going to fight Paulo Costa. They've even got a date, they're gonna go out...Abu Dhabi. That's a co-main event - very relevant - they'll be there for three rounds instead of five." [2:44:10 - 2:44:21]
'The American Gangster' added that he thought the news surrounding 'Borz' vs. 'Borrachinha' was already out. He mentioned that Costa signed a new deal, which is one of the reasons why the bout was able to materialize, saying:
"It's [Chimaev vs. Costa] going to be next...I mean, I just told you where it was. I didn't know I was revealing something, now you got me a little bit nervous, but I was not sworn to secrecy and that is all true what I just said." [2:45:28 - 2:45:38]
It remains to be seen if the middleweight clash that is believed to be booked for the Abu Dhabi event will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Check out the full video below:
Chael Sonnen shares his thoughts on who he thinks will challenge Israel Adesanya next
Chael Sonnen says that Dricus Du Plessis is the most likely next opponent for Israel Adesanya.
Per @arielhelwani
#TheMMAHour
While speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Chael Sonnen stated that the UFC could perhaps give 'Izzy' a new opponent in Dricus Du Plessis. The No.6 ranked middleweight is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak.
He said:
"He's gone and beat everybody, some of them twice, he's getting ready to beat some of them a third time. Or, we could move down the rankings to who hasn't been there yet, we could bring in Du Plessis, he's got the African tie-in, he's on a little bit of a roll, let's get this done." [2:37:50 - 2:38:01]
It remains to be seen whether the promotion will lean towards booking Adesanya vs. Du Plessis rather than another bout with a previous opponent.