Paulo Costa Tweets ‘I Wasn’t Bluffing’ After Cancellation of UFC 284 Bout, Robert Whittaker Responds

Paulo Costa clued fans in on a contract issue in November, but many, including Robert Whittaker, didn't believe him until now

Paulo Costa
Courtesy of @ESPNMMA on Twitter

It looks like Paulo Costa was telling the truth about his previously announced bout with Robert Whittaker.

‘The Eraser’ was scheduled to face Whittaker at UFC 284 this February when the promotion heads to Perth, Australia. In November, Costa revealed that he had not signed on the dotted line for a meeting with ‘The Reaper’ which would be the final fight of his existing contract. While most fans, and even Robert Whittaker, felt like Costa was trolling, it turns out that ‘The Eraser’ was being 100% honest in his comments. 

As reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the fight between Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker is now off the UFC 284 schedule as the promotion attempts to negotiate a new contract with the No. 7 ranked middleweight. 

“I wasn’t bluffing,” tweeted Costa following news of the fight cancellation. 

Paulo Costa Criticizes the UFC For Their ‘Lack of Negotiation Skills’

Costa followed up his initial tweets with two more, aiming at the UFC’s “negotiation skills” and naming other fighters publicly sharing their grievances with the promotion. 

“I think they’re taking it the wrong way, making fighters unhappy with deals isn’t very smart. It’s not only ME, I remember: Nagnnu , OMalley , Mark hunt etc,” he tweeted.

“Great fights is going down due to lack of negotiation skills, they should stop being petty,” Costa tweeted in conclusion.

After earning five straight wins inside the Octagon, Paulo Costa suffered his first setback in a middleweight title fight with former 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya. Costa followed that up with a unanimous decision loss to Marvin Vettori a year later. After back-to-back losses, ‘The Eraser’ got back into the win column besting Luke Rockhold in an incredibly bizarre, yet highly entertaining scrap at UFC 278 in August.

It is currently unclear if Robert Whittaker will accept a new opponent for UFC 284 or if his bout with Paulo Costa will simply be rescheduled for a later date. 

Robert Whittaker Responds to Cancellation of UFC 284 Bout

Following the reported cancellation of his UFC 284 bout, Robert Whittaker took to Twitter, sharing a video of himself confirming the news is true. ‘The Reaper’ shared his frustration with the situation, but fully intends to say ready for a potential return in March or April.

“Good day everybody. I’m sure you’ve seen the media and the rumors going around about the Perth card and it’s upsetting to say that they’re true. The fight with Costa has fallen apart. UFC tried everything within their power to get him to the fight. They gave him a new contract from what I understand, to take the fight and he still didn’t take the fight. 

“So yeah, the Perth fight is not happening. They’re looking to reschedule me March or April and this is very upsetting. Very upsetting. I’m sorry to all the friends, fans, and family that are heading over there to watch me do work, but yeah, it’s out of my hands. I’m upset. I was prepared to train through Christmas, train through New Years.  To put in the work. I’m already so deep into my camp. Everyone knows that my camps are quite long. So I’m already so deep into my camp and the work.

“I wanted to take the family out on holiday after the fight. Buy the kids some new toys. Earn some money, pay the rent, but all that’s put on the back burner for now. All that’s been pushed back and it’s upsetting for me. It’s upsetting for me, upsetting for you. But, what can you do? I’m just going to train. I’m gonna train my hardest. Train like a demon and take out my frustrations on the next guy, whoever they put in front of me in the first quarter, I’m gonna get in there and do my work.”

 

Published on December 19, 2022 at 6:01 pm
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