Robert Whittaker wants to "hurt" Paulo Costa at UFC 298, aims to use lessons learnt from loss to Dricus du Plessis as he works towards a title shot 

UFC 298 is set to feature a clash between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa, and the Australian will enter their bout with bad intentions.

'The Reaper' was defeated in surprising fashion in his previous fight, when he faced Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290. The South African handed Whittaker a TKO loss, and the former champion will hope to use the lessons learnt from that defeat in his upcoming clash.

The No.3 ranked middleweight contender reflected on the "wake-up call" he received after being finished by 'Stillknocks', during a recent UFC 298 press conference held in Sydney, Australia.

Whittaker appears full of confidence ahead of his clash with 'Borrachinha', and said this while previewing the fight:

"The du Plessis fight, and camp, was a good wake-up call. I think there's good to be had in just about everything, and from that fight and that camp, we went back to the gym, back home, we saw things in hindsight... We took things away that we liked, added things that we wanted to add."

He continued:

"I'm coming into this fight hungrier than ever, I've been really focusing on trying to bring that animal back. I'm not just in this fight to win, I'm in it to hurt Costa. I think that mentality is a powerful thing to have."

Listen to Robert Whittaker's UFC 298 preview below (6:10):

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Ilia Topuria oozes with confidence ahead of UFC 298 clash with Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski will return to the featherweight division to defend his throne against surging contender Ilia Topuria. The pair will headline UFC 298, set to take place on Feb. 17.

'El Matador' has trailblazed his way through the division and is currently 6-0 in the promotion. His most recent performance, a Fight of the Night winner against Josh Emmett at UFC on ABC 5, was arguably his greatest showing in the octagon thus far.

But Topuria believes he will paint his magnum opus against Volkanovski, a man yet to taste defeat as a featherweight.

Ahead of UFC 298, Topuria previewed his clash with 'The Great', and said this:

"It's going to be a masterpiece to hit and don’t get hit. That’s what you will see in this combat, you’ll see an authentic mixed martial artist. What I imagine is that I’ll be there with a lot of patience, looking for any opening. I’ll be there to take advantage. But the most important thing for me is to stay patient all the time."

Listen to Ilia Topuria's comments below: