Previously Announced Robert Whittaker-Paulo Costa Bout Not Happening at UFC 284

A previously announced middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa is now not likely to happen at UFC 284, according to a report from ESPN.

Though the contest is still listed on the UFC’s official website, the promotion has been unable to finalize the bout. The matchup was initially announced in October, and the only hurdle at the time was getting the fight cleared by the Western Australia Combat Sports Commission.

Since then, however, Costa revealed that he was still in negotiations with the UFC for a new contract with one fight remaining on his current deal. As a result, “Borrachinha” had not agreed to face Whittaker at UFC 284 because the promotion had not yet met his financial terms, and he claimed that his contract could potentially expire before he fulfilled the last bout.

More recently, Whittaker’s coach, Alex Prates, acknowledged that there was a "great possibility” that the former middleweight champion would not face Costa at UFC 284. While Prates said that Whittaker had been in training and would be ready to face a replacement opponent, ESPN has reported that it is unlikely that “The Reaper” will remain on the card.

On Monday, Costa tweeted that the UFC should “stop being petty” and compared himself to other fighters who have been unhappy with the promotion at various points in time.

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

I think they're taking it the wrong way, making fighters unhappy with deals isn't very smart. It’s not only ME, I remember: Nagnnu , OMalley , Mark hunt ect

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) December 19, 2022

UFC 284 takes place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Feb. 11 and is headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Islam Makhachev and reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski.