Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa scrapped from UFC 284, Whittaker will not fight in Australia
The upcoming middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa has been scrapped from UFC 284, and Whittaker will not fight in Australia anymore.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto first reported that the Whittaker vs. Costa fight is off the UFC 284 card, which is set to take place on February 11 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
No troll job. Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker will NOT fight at UFC 284 in February, per sources. More info coming to ESPN. pic.twitter.com/LWTAyKgSUL
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) December 19, 2022
No troll job. Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker will NOT fight at UFC 284 in February, per sources. More info coming to ESPN.
According to Costa, who took to social media following the announcement that the Whittaker fight is off, the fight is off because he couldn’t come to an agreement with the UFC on a new contract ahead of the bout. The Brazilian said the UFC was being “petty” in its negotiations.
Great fights is going down due to lack of negotiation skills, they should stop being petty 👍🥤 pic.twitter.com/uAfFLnTOdN
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) December 19, 2022
Great fights is going down due to lack of negotiation skills, they should stop being petty
Costa said last month that the fight with Whittaker was not official despite the UFC announcing it and having it on their official website, so it’s not exactly a surprise that the fight has been scrapped. Still, there was hope that the promotion and the fighter could come to an agreement on a new contract, but it didn’t happen.
Whittaker also commented on the fight being scrapped in a video that he called a status update.
Status Update #UFC284 #UFCPerth @ufc @UFC_AUSNZ pic.twitter.com/dPl4q2S8nj
— Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) December 19, 2022
“G’day, everybody. I’m sure you’ve seen the media and the rumor’s going around about the Perth card. It’s upsetting to say, it’s very upsetting to say that it’s true. The fight with Costa has fallen apart. UFC tried everything in their power to get him to the fight. They gave him a new contract to take the fight from what I understand, but he still didn’t take the fight. The Perth fight is not happening. They’re looking to reschedule me for March or April. This is very upsetting,” Whittaker said.
It remains to be seen who Whittaker will fight next, but it won’t be Costa.
Who do you think Robert Whittaker should fight next now that the Paulo Costa fight has been scrapped?
