"They just fed that man to the wolves nan rip Costa" - MMA Twitter reacts to Paulo Costa's new booking after allegedly ducking Robert Whittaker

Paulo Costa is set to make his return to the octagon after almost a year against middleweight prospect Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 on July 29 in Salt Lake City.

While 'Borrachinha' was initially booked to face Robert Whittaker at UFC 284 in Perth, he dismissed the promotion's fight announcement citing contract disputes, and the bout fell through. However, Costa recently signed a new deal with the UFC and will face Aliskerov for his next challenge.

While many fans are excited to see the Brazilian back in action, some believe the promotion has set Paulo Costa up to fail. Reacting to Costa's fight announcement, fans made their feelings known in the comments section of @SpinninBackfist's tweet.

One fan claimed Paulo Costa has been metaphorically thrown to the wolves and wrote:

"They just fed that man to the wolves, nan RIP Costa."

Another fan pointed out:

"Love costa, but he ducked Rob and everyone knows it."

One user questioned the wording of the post and wrote:

"This post worded as if Ikram is a harder fight than Rob."

Another user opined:

"Costa is done if he loses."

One fan claimed Costa should've fought Sean Strickland instead, writing:

"Should’ve been Costa Vs Strickland."

One fan wrote:

"Fair enough, Rob takes his soul. Ikram vs him would be a great fight."

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What did Robert Whittaker say about a potential Paulo Costa fight?

Robert Whittaker doesn't see himself fighting Paulo Costa and wants to face a fighter who won't pull out of bookings repeatedly.

The former middleweight champion last defeated Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris in September last year and was later booked to face Paulo Costa on two separate occasions. However, the Brazilian pulled out of their matchup both times, leaving the New Zealand-born Aussie without an opponent.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour last month, 'The Reaper' discussed his next fights and outlined why he won't be taking the Costa fight in the future. He stated:

"I'm not fighting him [Paulo Costa] because, mate, this is the second time I was supposed to fight him, and he's pulled out. And it just mucks everything up, I have to do a whole camp and I make expenses and costs and everything like that to get to a point where he falls away. This is the second time he's done it. I want a fight that's going to happen."

Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker is set to face Dricus Du Plessis in a title eliminator at UFC 290 on July 8.