Whittaker, Costa Facing Six-Month Sits

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC 298 injuries and medical suspensions for the athletes who competed at the “Volkanovski vs. Topuria”-led event this past weekend (Sat., Fe.b 17, 2024) from inside Honda …


UFC 298: Whittaker v Costa
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC 298 injuries and medical suspensions for the athletes who competed at the “Volkanovski vs. Topuria”-led event this past weekend (Sat., Fe.b 17, 2024) from inside Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., have been obtained by MMA Fighting.

Multiple fighters have been handed six-month sits, including Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa, who went to war for 15 minutes, resulting in a unanimous decision win for “The Reaper.” Both men ended up with multiple injuries, including a possible fractured hand for Whittaker and a cracked foot for Costa.

All that effort and no post-fight bonus

Nevertheless, Henry Cejudo has also been handed a six-month suspension following his unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili; however, it won’t really matter because “Triple C” retired for a second time after the event.

Checkout the full list of UFC 298 suspensions:

  • Robert Whittaker: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to hand; suspended 60 days no contest, 60 days no contact unless cleared by physician for laceration (right eye, foot); 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for hard bout (no exception).
  • Paulo Costa: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to right foot, left leg; suspended 60 days no contest, 60 days no contact unless cleared by physician for laceration; 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for hard bout (no exception).
  • Henry Cejudo: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to left forearm
  • Mackenzie Dern: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to left leg, CT scan; 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for hard bout (no exception).
  • Marcos Rogerio de Lima: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to right foot.
  • Carlos Vera: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to shoulder.
  • Zhang Mingyang: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to right hand.
  • Danny Barlow: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician for possible fracture to left forearm; 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for hard bout (no exception).
  • Josh Quinlan: Suspended 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared by physician (CT scan); 45-day mandatory suspension, 30-day no contact for TKO (no exception).
  • Alexander Volkanovski: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions because of knockout.
  • Amanda Lemos: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions because of hard bout.
  • Junior Tafa: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions because of technical knockout.
  • Brendson Ribeiro: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions because of knockout.
  • Oban Elliott: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions because of hard bout.
  • Val Woodburn: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions because of hard bout.
  • Ilia Topuria: Seven-day mandatory rest.
  • Ian Machado Garry: Seven-day mandatory rest.
  • Geoff Neal: Seven-day mandatory rest.
  • Merab Dvalishvili: Seven-day mandatory rest.
  • Anthony Hernandez: Seven-day mandatory rest.
  • Roman Kopylov: Seven-day mandatory rest.
  • Rinya Nakamura: Seven-day mandatory rest.
  • Miranda Maverick: Seven-day mandatory rest.
  • Andrea Lee: Seven-day mandatory rest.

Just a quick reminder: Fighters often return to action much quicker once doctors give them the green light. The lengthy suspensions are just a precaution in most cases. In addition, not all injuries are recorded during the post-fight examination and often times surface in follow-up tests.


For complete UFC 298 results, coverage and highlights, click HERE.