Paulo Costa is switching opponents…

The 32-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist will face undefeated Khamzat Chimaev in the Octagon at 185 pounds at UFC 294 on October 21 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, UFC president Dana White has announced.

Costa and Chimaev are two of the most popular fighters in the UFC middleweight division.

The card will be headlined by a lightweight title rematch between champion Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. It’s unclear if the Chimaev-Costa bout will be the co-main event. 

Costa had been scheduled to fight Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 next week in Salt Lake City, but was pulled from that fight to face Chimaev. Aliskerov will now fight at UFC 294 against Nassourdine Imavov.

ESPN has Chimaev ranked No. 4 in the world at welterweight, while Costa is rated No. 7 at middleweight.

Chimaev (12-0) has not fought since September, a first-round submission of Kevin Holland at UFC 279. He missed weight before what would have been a fight with Nate Diaz on that card before being given Holland as a replacement.

The Chechen-born fighter is 6-0 in the UFC with five finishes. Chimaev, 29, holds the UFC modern record for the fastest three-fight winning streak (66 days).

Costa (14-2) is coming off a unanimous decision over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 in August 2022. The Brazilian fighter snapped a two-fight losing streak with that victory. Costa has won six of his eight UFC fights with the lone losses coming to Marvin Vettori and champion Israel Adesanya in a title fight.