Azamat Murzakanov and Paulo Costa are set to face off in the light heavyweight co-main event at UFC 327.
Murzakanov’s Title Aspirations
Currently ranked No. 8 at 205 pounds, Murzakanov aims to demonstrate his worthiness for a title shot when he battles Costa.
Murzakanov has been making waves in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He has finished five of his first six octagon opponents since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. His most recent victory was against Aleksandar Rakic in a little over three minutes. Murzakanov has 12 knockouts in 16 victories.
He’s sure to have his eye on Saturday’s vacant title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg.
Costa’s Move to Light Heavyweight
Costa, a longtime contender at middleweight, is moving up to light heavyweight. The reasons for the move are mostly unclear, even to him.
Costa is over five years removed from his lone UFC title shot against then-middleweight king Israel Adesanya and just 2-4 in his past six fights. However, Costa had a bounce-back performance against Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 and can vault himself back into relevance with an upset over Murzakanov.
UFC 327 Details
The Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa fight is part of UFC 327. The event takes place Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Check out the UFC 327 live blog for Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa below.