It looks like we’re getting a top flight middleweight fight for the UFC’s return to Australia on February 12, 2023.
Banger alert! The UFC’s former welterweight champion, Robert Whittaker, announced his next fight booking in a post on social media. It looks like the ex-middleweight champion is set to take on former title challenger Paulo Costa on the UFC 284 PPV card on February 12, in Perth, Australia.
At 185-pounds, unless the fighter’s name is Israel Adesanya they haven’t had any luck in beating Robert Whittaker. After losing his belt to Izzy back in 2019, Whittaker beat the likes of Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum before getting a shot to win back UFC gold. He came up short again, dropping a decision to Adesanya in their rematch—but jumped right back to his winning ways with a unanimous decision over Marvin Vettori at last month’s UFC Paris card. By all accounts, ‘Bobby Knuckles’ is still in prime form.
Paulo Costa is currently 14-2 in his mixed-martial arts journey, and he’s coming off of a bloody decision win over a former middleweight champ in Luke Rockhold this past August. The victory broke up a two-fight losing skid for ‘Borrachinha,’ including defeats at the hands of Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori. Lately, Costa has been pushing the buttons of Khamzat Chimaev, but now it looks like he’ll have to shift his focus towards a huge opportunity in a former champ known as ‘The Reaper.’
UFC 284 takes place at the RAC Arena. As of yet no other fights have been announced for the card, and there’s no word yet as to what the potential headlining bout for the PPV may be. But hometown fans can know they should be set to see at least one of Australia’s biggest stars when the UFC returns ‘Down Under’ in 2023.