Paulo Costa details negotiations with UFC before UFC 284 fight against Robert Whittaker was canceled
Paulo Costa has opened up on his contract negotiations with the UFC.
The UFC announced Costa was set to fight Robert Whittaker in Perth, Australia at UFC 284. It was a big fight for the middleweight division, but Costa had been vocal in saying the fight won’t happen. This week, the news came out that the fight is off and the Brazilian has now opened up on the negotiations.
“I say I want new terms to fight [Whittaker],” Costa said on The MMA Hour. “I will not [fight] for the same money. It’s a main event in Australia. The people from Australia will be there. It’s a great fight. So [$70,000] is not enough for that. Just go a little bit higher, and they said no. They said, [UFC President] Dana White’s lawyer, [UFC CBO] Hunter Campbell, said ‘We need to make a new six-fight deal.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not going to talk about six fights more. I talk about that one.’ That makes sense. Why you bring six fights in? I’m talking about that one, to fight Whittaker, not six more. It doesn’t make sense to me.
“I’m not looking for six more fights, not at the numbers that he sent me,” Costa continued. “I don’t think this makes sense. I’m talking about one fight specifically, not six. I did this in the past, five years ago, 2017, and I’m paying for this mistake even now, because I’m so [outdated].”
According to Paulo Costa, he says he wanted to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC 284 but wasn’t going to do it with the pay he was getting.
“I need to do one more, I will do [it],” Costa said. “But for what my payment is right now, [no], unranked guy or lower ranked guy. I would like to fight Whittaker, but I think if they negotiate a little bit, because Hunter just says the number and says, ‘Take or not.’ That’s not negotiation.”
As of right now, there is no word on if Costa and the UFC are still negotiating but the fight against Whittaker is now off.
