Outside Source
Costa (15-4) will face Azamat Murzakanov (16-0) in a light heavyweight clash at UFC 327 on April 11 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. While Costa is unsure whether he will continue at light heavyweight, “Borrachinha” is confident that he can still make middleweight whenever he wants.
Costa believes he can call for a middleweight title shot against Chimaev with a convincing win over undefeated Murzakanov. The former middleweight title challenger also doesn’t mind waiting for Chimaev at light heavyweight.
‘I Can Fight Him in Both Divisions’
“[Khamzat] is the champion right now,” Costa said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I think after a good victory against Azamat on April 11, I get back at middleweight to be in line to fight him. Or I can wait for him at 205. I can fight him in both divisions.”
Chimaev dominantly defeated Dricus Du Plessis to win the middleweight title at UFC 319 last year. Chimaev’s future remains unsure as he had originally been teasing a move to light heavyweight to challenge Alex Pereira. However, Dana White clearly said that he would like to see Chimaev defend his title first. However, Chimaev’s move to light heavyweight is immediately unlikely as Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg will fight for the vacant title at UFC 327. This means that Pereira will vacate the light heavyweight title and move up, and Chimaev will have to stay put at middleweight for the time being.
Costa is coming off an upset win over Roman Kopylov that saw him rebound from consecutive losses against Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland. Meanwhile, Murzaknov has finished five of his six UFC wins so far, most notably knocking out Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 321 last year.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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