Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa will not be fighting at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.
The UFC announced the fight on social media, but for weeks, Costa has said he has yet to sign the contract and he wouldn’t be fighting Whittaker. The former champ, meanwhile, thought Costa was just trolling and the fight would happen but now according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the fight between Whittaker and Costa is off. There is no news on whether or not Whittaker will remain on the card or who he will fight.
According to the report, Costa and the UFC have discussed a new contract, but nothing has been agreed upon. He also wrote in an Instagram comment the UFC “should stop being petty,” and added that fights are falling through due to the promotion’s “lack of negotiating skills.”
The news shouldn’t come as a surprise as for weeks Paulo Costa has said it won’t happen and once again said that was the case on Monday.
https://twitter.com/BorrachinhaMMA/status/1604901194375520257
“Guys sending me this, I feel sad for Robert because the UFC didn’t tell him the truth lol, you don’t deserve this. Bro, sorry I won’t fight you in Perth UFC posting this (Robert vs Costa)just to sell tickets, you need to realize that.They didn’t pay me, I’m out!I’m not joking,” Costa wrote.
Robert Whittaker (24-6) is coming off a decision victory over Marvin Vettori back at UFC Paris to return to the win column after losing a decision to Israel Adesanya for the belt. In his career, the former UFC champ holds notable wins over Yoel Romero, Jared Cannonier, Darren Till, and Kelvin Gastelum.
Paulo Costa (14-2) snapped his two-fight losing streak last time out as he beat Luke Rockhold by decision at UFC 278. Prior to that, he lost a decision to Marvin Vettori and was knocked out by Israel Adesanya for the belt.
With Whittaker-Costa off, UFC 284 is as follows:
- Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski
- Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett
- Robert Whittaker vs. TBD
- Tyson Pedro vs. Mingyang Zhang
- Kai Kara-France vs. Alex Perez
- Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis
- Justin Tafa vs. Parker Porter
- Joshua Culibao vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
- Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield
- Kleydson Rodrigues vs. Shannon Ross
- Jamie Mullarkey vs. TBD
- Joel Alvarez vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
Who would you like to see face Robert Whittaker at UFC 284?