“Not pulling out” – After giving UFC 298 sabotage-scare, Paulo Costa HILARIOUSLY assures fans of Robert Whittaker fight

Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa will try to hash it out yet again at UFC 298, after two previous failed bookings by the promotion. UFC CEO Dana White very recently announced that the former 185lbs titleholder would face Costa at the Feb. 17 event, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Ahead of this though, ‘Borrachinha’ hasn’t been instilling much confidence on the matter. His not signing his contract for the UFC 298 card yet garnered reservations as the first step to pull out.

Costa last pulled out of UFC 294 due to a serious case of staph infection, against Khamzat Chimaev. But it is his taunting and jovial disposition that has fight fans worried even more. He recently posted a troll contract signing weeks away from UFC 298. This was in continuation to his joking about filling out the ‘PED application’ before USADA’s departure. Now here’s what the fighter wrote, taking to X –

I have a message for you all mtfks.

Paolo Costa via X

What followed this was an assortment of letters on a bed that hilariously spelled out “I’m not pulling out.” Talking to The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani, he yet again had mentioned not signing yet. However, the former middleweight champion, Whittaker, mentioned to Helwani that he isn’t really worried about Costa pulling out. Despite Costa having had five bouts canceled/rebooked in the past couple of years, he is confident this will happen.

The slated matchup has instilled zero hopes in fans whatsoever; the string of taunts and quips from the fighter didn’t help matters any. But the Brazilian middleweight does divulge that he’s ready and prepping for his square-off. That, and Whittaker’s testimony are somewhat reassuring to the MMA community, who have reacted much on the matter.

Fans react to Paulo Costa’s new assuring tease on Twitter

Paulo Costa briefly gave a jumpscare to the fight bubble. The fighter had disappeared from UFC 298’s official athlete listings; fans feared the worst. The fighter has earned the moniker of “Pullout Costa” from fans; and for viable reasons.

The string of pullouts began when Costa withdrew from his April 17 UFC event, vs. Robert Whittaker, due to the flu. He followed that up by pulling out of his fight against Jared Cannonier. Tipping the scales when he weighed in with Marvin Vettori didn’t help his cause either. His last withdrawal was at UFC 294.

Costa would go on to withdraw from a prospective matchup with Robert Whittaker yet again, due to failing to come to terms with a new deal. While Whittaker remains unfazed by his time restraint of signing the contract, fans aren’t so sure. However, here’s how some have reacted to him teasing that he wouldn’t pull out –

With his unsettling contractual unbinding, some have quipped that they would believe it only when he enters the octagon, it gets locked, and the match commences. Others have jibed that with how elusive he is, Costa might just be fighting at an unspecified catchweight weight class someday.

Whittaker had recently challenged Costa for March 2024 in an interview with Niko Pajarillo for Australia’s “Mainevent” channel. Now he remains confident in spirit that Costa would show up. Fight fans though, are a whole other matter.

In case you missed it:

• “Always talking never fighting” – Slated for a return, Paulo Costa’s post-USADA tease yet again gets barbed down by fans
• Paulo Costa Net Worth, Fighting Career, Endorsement, Girlfriend, Parents, and more

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