A crazed-fan from the crowd went after MMA star Paulo Costa at UFC 294 in an extraordinary moment.
Costa was in attendance at the Etihad Arena for last night's bill from Abu Dhabi as he watched on following his withdrawal.
He was scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event until he had to pull out due to an elbow injury.
Advert
Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman replaced Costa to take on the returning Chimaev at UFC 294.
But despite not being on the card, the UFC middleweight contender had a fight of his own as he fended off a fan from the crowd.
A shocking video shows a spectator launching himself towards the Brazilian and trying to get at him.
Costa, who was sporting protection for his injured elbow, defended himself by throwing a couple of punches.
Advert
The fan, however, didn't land any blows on the UFC fighter as security intervened.
Costa was eventually ushered away back to his seat as arena officials restored order. Check it out below:
Taking to X, the 32-year-old wrote: "I told you guys I could fight tonight."
In another post, he added: "Ya know what? Technically i fought in #UFC294 I already beat 3 chenchens in a brawl. Give me my wins."
Advert
Speaking after the fights, UFC CEO Dana White discussed the incident between Costa and the fan.
"I've never seen somebody from the crowd go after a fighter," he said during his post-fight press conference.
Costa hasn't fought since his victory over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 in August 2022.
His elbow injury will see him face a spell on the sideline before returning to the Octagon.
Advert
As for UFC 294, Chimaev edged out Usman by majority decision.
SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.
Topics:Ā UFC, Dana White
Nasir Jabbar