“-100000 Costa pulls out” – Fans have ZERO hopes in UFC’s latest announcement for Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa

After consecutive pullouts from Paulo Costa, fans are not hyped-up about the chances of his matchup with Robert Whittaker.

“-100000 Costa pulls out” – Fans have ZERO hopes in UFC’s latest announcement for Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa faces Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 next (Source: IMAGO/UFC.com)

Through Paulo Costa‘s account, the UFC once offered him a four-fight deal totaling half a million dollars. The deal was to lock horns with Robert Whittaker. This was on the fight card for UFC 284. Costa later revealed to MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani that he had said no to the fight – a commonality, as per fans. He also had to pull out of his slated bout at UFC 294. Now, he faces Whittaker at UFC 298. CEO Dana White made the stunning announcement very recently.

Costa, the 14-2 Brazilian middleweight last had a winning outing against Luke Rockhold at UFC 278. He had to, however, pull out of UFC 294 pairing against Khamzat Chimaev due to a staph infection. With simultaneous pullouts from the fighter, there is a consensus of fan sentiments that the fighter tends to do so repeatedly. A prominent reaction made a mocking bet that “-100000 Costa pulls out“.

Costa had vociferously critiqued Chimaev’s slow and dragged win against Kamaru Usman, after his own pullout. Chimaev, at 13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC had exhausted himself in the very first round and even incurred an arm injury. The co-headlining event at UFC 294 was thus underwhelming.

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Conversely, many fans and peers have also dissed Costa for his abstaining tendencies. Recently, even Whittaker himself teased a “Paulo via pull out” tease, hinting at this fight. Even now, not all fans have responded positively to the news.

Fans react to news of Robert Whittaker facing Paulo Costa at UFC 298

Dana White recently affirmed that Robert Whittaker would be finally facing Paulo Costa at UFC 298. This news came with other lineup reveals for the historic UFC 300 and UFC 299 card as well. Whittaker had recently called out Costa for March 2024, in an interview with Niko Pajarillo for Australia’s “Mainevent” podcast. The former middleweight and “Borrachinha” were to face before but the match saw cancellation with Costa pulling out. This was due to apparent failed negotiations.

Fans react to Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa matchup chances
Fans react to Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa matchup chances (Source: IMAGO/Twitter)

With Costa having a history of having withdrawn from a handful of bouts, fans are not overly ecstatic at the prospect of the current one. Check out the following reactions to the news:

A few fans have, however, reacted along the lines of positive reinforcement for both fighters. After a failed booking, the duo face off under the Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria featherweight title card. The event takes place at The Honda Center In Anaheim, California in February.

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