Could UFC 298 mark the end of title hopes for loser of Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker? Exploring the possibility

UFC 298 will feature a middleweight clash between former champion Robert Whittaker and veteran Paulo Costa in its co-main event. The two will take on each other on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Whittaker currently ranks at No.3 in the middleweight division while Costa has fallen outside the top five to No.6. Both UFC 298 fighters have lost two out of their last three fights, including a title fight against former champion Israel Adesanya.

However, circumstances are really dire for Costa, who has only fought three times in the last four years with a lone victory against an aging Luke Rockhold, who immediately announced his retirement after their Fight of the Night bout at UFC 278.

Costa reportedly has four fights left on his contract after he takes on Whittaker and will need to consistently put in solid performances to move back into the title contention conversation.

Whittaker fought Adesanya twice in title fights and failed to get the better of him both times. Considering 'The Last Stylebender' is ahead of all other contenders in the pecking order due to his dominant reign, Whittaker will also have to string together a strong winning streak to warrant a title shot.

However, if Adesanya remains out, the winner at UFC 298 could proceed to a title eliminator against Sean Strickland or Khamzat Chimaev. Whereas the loser will have a bit of rebuilding to do to get near a title shot again.

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Paulo Costa dismisses potential fight against Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 298

Paulo Costa does not see eye to eye with undefeated fighter Khamzat Chimaev, and the two were expected to face off at UFC 294. However, Costa withdrew due to injury, and Chimaev took on former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.

When asked if he was interested in fighting Chimaev after UFC 298, Costa dismissed what 'Borz' has accomplished in the middleweight division and questioned his wins.

Costa stressed that Chimaev has to do more and stated that he will not precede him in title contention.

“Everybody knows I don’t like the guy. But I don’t think too many people take him seriously anymore. He didn’t beat anybody in the top 15 in the middleweight division. How can you take this guy seriously? He could barely beat [Kamaru] Usman on 10 days, short notice. But after I beat Whittaker, I will not hear his name. F**k him. He needs to do something. He needs to beat somebody at least in the top 10 in the middleweight... I don’t think he’s capable to do that. I don’t believe he’s going to jump and fight for the belt before me.”

Check out Paulo Costa's full comments below (13:08):