Despite the official announcement of the fight, former UFC middleweight title contender Paulo Costa made it clear that he was not going to fight Russian Ikram Aliskerov.
“What is Spark?” the Brazilian wrote on social media, reacting to a screenshot posted by a fan from the official UFC website. “I don’t fight Russians”
Last weekend, UFC President Dana White, commenting on the organization of this match, as well as the duel between Sean Strickland and Abusupian Magomedov, announced that Russians who are not included in the top 15 in the division rating were given a chance to prove themselves in confrontations with top fighters, to assess their real level.
Two weeks ago, 30-year-old Ikram Aliskerov made a successful debut under the UFC banner, knocking out American Phil Howes in the first round and chalking up his fourteenth professional victory.
Recall that the fight between Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov should take place on July 29 at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/31627-paulo-kosta-ne-sobiraetsya-dratsya-s-ikramom-aliskerovym.html?rand=19907
