Ranked middleweights will collide during the UFC’s return to Australia.

UFC 284 is currently set to head back to Australia next February. The pay-per-view card is set to take place at the RAC Arena in Perth, and it’ll be the promotion’s first trip back to the country in three years. The last card was headlined by Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya in October 2019.

As of now, the headliner has yet to be announced for the event. But, we now know that one-half of that pay-per-view card three years ago will be back at UFC 284. That one-half being the former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, as the promotion announced on social media.

‘The Reaper’ is fresh off his dominant win over Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris last month. In that outing, Whittaker dominated the Italian fighter across three rounds to claim the decision win. The victory was his fourth in the last five octagon appearances.

Opposite the former champion is the former title challenger Paulo Costa. ‘The Eraser’ returned to action against Luke Rockhold in August, as he won by decision. The victory was an important one for Costa, as it helped snap a two-fight losing streak.

The addition of the middleweight clash comes at an important time for the division. Next month in New York, the 185-pound title will be on the line as Israel Adesanya will look to defend against Alex Pereira. The Brazilian previously defeated the champion twice in kickboxing.

Currently, betting odds are close on the contest. However, if ‘Poatan’ can pull off the victory, it would open a possible title shot to Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa. Both men were previously finished by Adesanya, but with a new champion, anything is possible.

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