Paulo Costa talks about not getting a contract for his fight against Robert Whittaker

Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker were reportedly scheduled to meet in a middleweight bout at UFC 284 in February 2023. The highly-anticipated bout has been canceled after the No.6-ranked middleweight claimed he never signed a contract. Costa shared more details about his reasoning for declining the fight.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Costa stated:

"UFC promoted that post, me against Robert... That was pretty, pretty fake news because I didn't get a contract or terms or nothing to fight him. Just Mick Maynard asked me if I'd like to fight him, I said, 'of course'. He is a great fighter, and this is supposed to be a great fight to do, a fight that you feel excited to do, and I think the people want to watch this fight as well."

Costa continued:

"I said, 'of course, I can fight him, but now let's go to the terms'. Just this happened and we didn't keep moving after that. They didn't send a contract or terms or nothing. They just said, 'if you want to fight Whittaker, let's do that fight', but I cannot do that fight, fight the No.1 or No.2 high level guy like Whittaker for the same money that I'm getting since 2017. Not make sense."

Costa claimed that he was paid $35,000 for his last four fights, including his UFC 253 middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya. While he is unwilling to fight for that amount, the No.6-ranked middleweight did note that he is open to facing Whittaker if the UFC offers him a contract he deems to be fair.

Watch Paulo Costa's full comments on the cancelation of his UFC 284 bout with Robert Whittaker below:

---

Robert Whittaker shares his thoughts on Paulo Costa clash being canceled

While Paulo Costa has stated that he never received a contract offer to face Robert Whittaker, the No.2-ranked middleweight claimed otherwise. In a video shared to his Twitter account, Whittaker stated:

"The fight was canceled, it's fallen apart. UFC tried everything in their power to get him to the fight. They gave him the new contract, from what I understand, to take the fight, and he still didn't take the fight. The Perth fight is not happening. They're looking to reschedule me in March [or] April. This is very upsetting."

There is no word as to why the UFC didn't attempt to find a new opponent for Whittaker, one of the most talented and popular fighters from Australia, where UFC 284 will take place. With nearly two months until the event, it remains to be seen if the promotion will change course and find him an opponent for the card.

Watch Robert Whittaker's full comments on the cancelation of his UFC 284 clash with Paulo Costa below: