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If Khamzat wins the belt Paulo Costa is the most likely contender

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At this moment in time Paulo should be the favorite if there is a market for it. Not that he will be the most likely contender when the title and the others contenders fight conclude for sure ... but today?? Seems like he is.

There is RDR, Borralho, Imavov and Strickland who could fight for the title and I think they are getting skipped by Costa if they don't get a finish and even with a finish you never know. Some of these will be exlcluded while Costa is gonna remain an option...

They are 100% gonna make the fight if Khamzat loses but if he wins and calls him out I also think they are gonna make the fight in most scenarios.
It is gonna be really similar to Bisping Hendo except there isn't a 1st fight. Just a guy getting an underserved title shot because it works as a business decision.

Also If it isn't Costa in pole position it is Strickland, just because all the others not only have to win but perform to get the shot. And then Khamzat is just gonna call out Strickland or Costa and get one of them.

I'm not advocating for this, for me Borralho vs Imavov winner deserves it unless it is a horrible stinkfest. Even if the fight kinda sucks winner should get it...
I'm just predicting that Costa is the favorite in case Chimaev wins....

If you are Khamzat you obviously want to call out Costa. Costa just called you out a PPV a month earlier, Costa has fights where he sucks...
Costa says he is getting paid a ton, so the UFC obviously rates him. I don't think it will just be based on the beef or Paulo social media following but most important Khamzat is the biggest star in the division and UFC would be well served to give him an easier fight. But I think what will make it for them is the potential of it being some gold in the promotion and create the type of lines that fans repeat, remember and elevate fighter's profile.

Things are aligning for Costa, lets face it.


And what's crazy is that the fight can get booked, Khamzat can pull out and Costa can end up fighting for the interim or undisputed in one of the most bizarre title fights ever. Not predicting it but this is a thing that CAN happen. Also someone can get the shot, get injured and then Costa fills in....

DDP might just be the only hope to stop this timeline from happening...



There is already material for the promos...
 
If Topper can cherry pick fights, then so can gourmet chen chen.
This sounds like a future title fight to me.
 
Goat Poster said:
At this moment in time Paulo should be the favorite if there is a market for it. Not that he will be the most likely contender when the title and the others contenders fight conclude for sure ... but today?? Seems like he is.

There is RDR, Borralho, Imavov and Strickland who could fight for the title and I think they are getting skipped by Costa if they don't get a finish and even with a finish you never know. Some of these will be exlcluded while Costa is gonna remain an option...

They are 100% gonna make the fight if Khamzat loses but if he wins and calls him out I also think they are gonna make the fight in most scenarios.
It is gonna be really similar to Bisping Hendo except there isn't a 1st fight. Just a guy getting an underserved title shot because it works as a business decision.

Also If it isn't Costa in pole position it is Strickland, just because all the others not only have to win but perform to get the shot. And then Khamzat is just gonna call out Strickland or Costa and get one of them.

I'm not advocating for this, for me Borralho vs Imavov winner deserves it unless it is a horrible stinkfest. Even if the fight kinda sucks winner should get it...
I'm just predicting that Costa is the favorite in case Chimaev wins....

If you are Khamzat you obviously want to call out Costa. Costa just called you out a PPV a month earlier, Costa has fights where he sucks...
Costa says he is getting paid a ton, so the UFC obviously rates him. I don't think it will just be based on the beef or Paulo social media following but most important Khamzat is the biggest star in the division and UFC would be well served to give him an easier fight. But I think what will make it for them is the potential of it being some gold in the promotion and create the type of lines that fans repeat, remember and elevate fighter's profile.

Things are aligning for Costa, lets face it.


And what's crazy is that the fight can get booked, Khamzat can pull out and Costa can end up fighting for the interim or undisputed in one of the most bizarre title fights ever. Not predicting it but this is a thing that CAN happen. Also someone can get the shot, get injured and then Costa fills in....

DDP might just be the only hope to stop this timeline from happening...



There is already material for the promos...
Click to expand...

Costa is a bum. He will never earn a titleshot because he's a fringe top10 at absolute best.
 
Conan the K-9 said:
If he wins, there is Caio/Nassurdine winner next. Paulo should fight Jared or/and Izzy next.
If Dricus wins, then this is a good matchup next.
Click to expand...
This fight is after the title fight...

If Khamzat wins he is gonna either call out Costa or Sean Strickland he isn't gonna call out 2 guys whitout a name.

Unless someone really puts a stamp on the Caio fight that screams "I'm him" they aren't gonna give a fuck about meritocracy. It will be either Costa or Sean....

This motherfucker might really make it happen...
Aurelian said:
Paddy can't even get a title shot with Ilia yet will all their beef and he's won like 6 or 7 UFC fights in a row. Not a chance Costa gets next.
Click to expand...
I think the Pimblett fight is happening but I there's an extra factor here. Pimblett vs Ilia should be in a soccer stardium in Europe. Only way you do that is in the offseason so the pitch has time to recover.

If they give the title shot to Justin and plan to make the Pimblett fight in the summer it makes sense.

They won't give the shot to Arman who is a smaller name and a harder fight at the same time. Same reason they would favour Costa/Strickland over anyone else...
 
Only if it's a short notice replacement.

Costa should fight Robocop or Fluffy Hernandez. Maybe
 
You know that would actually be right on brand for the UFC with how they've been running the circus lately.

Skipping over younger and far more deserving names for the WWE style fight is precisely what the UFC is probably going to do.
 
Limeade said:
Only if it's a short notice replacement.

Costa should fight Robocop or Fluffy Hernandez. Maybe
Click to expand...
That would be a good start.

I think he also should need to revenge at least one of his losses as well.
 
Who was Costa talking about DM'ing his wife/girlfriend? He seemed genuinely mad about it and it seemed like that was the main focus for his renewed efforts.
 
Costa has 2 wins in 5 years and he's 2-4 since 2019. You think he gets a title shot with that record?? That might be the single worst title shot ever granted by the UFC if it happens.

There's no way Costa leapfrogs the Borralho vs Imavov winner.
 
Conan the K-9 said:
If Dricus wins, then this is a good matchup next.
Click to expand...
How so? Khamzat wins 9/10, easy, mostly in ways that thoroughly embarrass Costa. It's not like Costa has some great gas tank where he's a heavy favorite if he manages to weather the storm. Maybe it's a headliner for a middle east non-PPV card where the UFC is looking to feed a chump to Khamzat for the locals' pleasure, but even then it's just a reasonable booking, not an actual good one.
 
I can't remember the last time Costa won a fight plus Dana hates him?
I can't see them giving it to him unless they really ramp up the beef but even then Dana wouldn't let it happen.
 
JBJ was here said:
How so? Khamzat wins 9/10, easy, mostly in ways that thoroughly embarrass Costa. It's not like Costa has some great gas tank where he's a heavy favorite if he manages to weather the storm. Maybe it's a headliner for a middle east non-PPV card where the UFC is looking to feed a chump to Khamzat for the locals' pleasure, but even then it's just a reasonable booking, not an actual good one.
Click to expand...
Who do you think is a better matchup for ratlip after a loss to Dricus?

drphil said:
I can't remember the last time Costa won a fight plus Dana hates him?
I can't see them giving it to him unless they really ramp up the beef but even then Dana wouldn't let it happen.
Click to expand...
Dana loves him.
This fight is very easy to sell.
 
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