The Reaper Returns Home: Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa to clash in an exciting addition to UFC 284
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(Left) Whittaker and (right) Costa
The Reaper Robert Whittaker is on the prowl again and standing against him this time will be the Eraser, Paulo Costa. Costa and Whittaker, both former title challengers are set to meet at UFC 284 in Whittaker’s home country as the UFC returns to Australia.
Both Whittaker and Costa have suffered a loss to the current champion, Israel Adesanya. Since then both have been looking to climb their way back into title contention. In this regard, it is very likely that the winner among these two fighters will be next in line to challenge the winner of the middleweight championship bout in December between Adesanya and his kickboxing arc rival, Alex Pereira.
Both Whittaker and Costa are known to never be involved in lackluster fights and hence we can reasonably expect a memorable fight down the line. In his most recent bout, Costa won fight of the night honors with a victory over former UFC and Strikeforce Champion, Luke Rockhold, Whittaker on the other hand completely outclassed top-ranked contender, Marvin Vettori in his most recent fight at UFC Paris.
This also confirms that Costa has re-signed with the UFC as he had revealed prior to his UFC 276 bout that he was on the last fight of his contract. The Brazilian had been initially calling for a bout against Chechen phenom, Khamzat Chimaev, but the latter’s plans to stay at Welterweight might have put a halt to that.
Costa and Whittaker were earlier scheduled to face at UFC Vegas 24, however, a month prior to the bout, Costa pulled out being replaced by Kelvin Gastelum.
How did Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa bounce back from their loss to Israel Adesanya?
The way Costa and Whittaker handled their losses to Adesanya, are the two extreme ways to handle and bounce back from a loss. While Whittaker jas had two fights against the current champion, both he and the Brazilian were knocked out in the second round of their fight in their first meeting.
Soon after his loss at UFC 253, the Brazilian blamed everything from wine to a lack of sleep, everything but himself. He would take a significant layoff only to return to fight Marvin Vettori in a fight week marred by controversy. He walked into fight week almost 40lbs over the middleweight limit, ultimately forcing the bout to be contested at light-heavyweight. He would go on to lose and thrilling, high-paced fight
Also Read: “Real Brazilian experience”- Paulo Costa posts picture of a TRULY ABSURD app with porn link
Whittaker on the other hand would be considered the ideal way for a contender to bounce back after a loss to the champion. He took some time off and went on a historic run beating contenders left and right, from divisional newcomer Darrel Till to former Adesanya opponent and title challenger, Kelvin Gastelum.
Despite losing a close decision to the champion in his second excursion, Whittaker is confident that he’ll be able to regain his title soon and is back to his ways of wiping out the rest of the division.
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)