In the most recent mixed martial arts fight that Paulo Costa participated in, he was defeated by Robert Whittaker, who had previously held the title of UFC middleweight champion. The fight between ‘The Eraser’ also known as ‘Borrachinha’ and Whittaker was included in the co-headlining matchup of UFC 298 earlier today (February 17, 2024).
In the middleweight fight that lasted three rounds, the Brazilian knockout artist surprised Whittaker with a devastating wheel kick toward the conclusion of the first round. During rounds two and three, “The Reaper” managed to stay alive and appeared to land a greater number of strikes than Costa throughout the fight.
After everything was said and done, the three official judges ultimately decided that Whittaker had won the fight by a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). Judge Mike Bell scored it 30-27 in favor of the New Zealand-born Australian mixed martial arts fighter, while Judge Ron McCarthy and Judge Eliot Kelly both scored it 29-28 for “The Reaper.” Other judges, however, scored it 30-27.
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In response to his defeat at UFC 298 and the decision of the judges, Costa has now tweeted about it. In his tweet, which included a video of his head kick that shook Whittaker, ‘The Eraser’ seemed to have maintained the joyful social media attitude that he has established for himself.
The 32-year-old expressed gratitude to his supporters. As an additional point of interest, Costa indicated that he had the impression that he was winning the battle, which caused Whittaker to retreat and do damage to ‘The Reaper’s’ face. On the other hand, he admitted that the judges did not have the same point of view.
Regardless, Costa emphasized that he is not suffering from any injuries and that he intends to exert even more pressure on his opponent in order to get a finish in his subsequent octagon appearance. Tweeted by him:
“Hey, mtfks, you are incredible, and I want to thank everyone for their support. During the fight, I had the impression that I was winning since I was applying pressure to him and hurting his face, but the judge had a different opinion. Anyway, I’m back, and I haven’t sustained any injuries. Next, I’m going to put in even more effort till I finish. Love you all.
Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa: What’s next for ‘The Reaper’ and ‘The Eraser’ after UFC 298 war?
At this time, neither Paulo Costa nor Robert Whittaker have made any public announcements regarding their respective next opponents or comeback dates. Regarding Costa, he has a record of 1-3 in his most recent four bouts inside the octagon. At this point, it is generally agreed upon that ‘The Eraser’s’ most recent loss has most certainly eliminated him from contention for the UFC middleweight title for the time being.
In the meantime, Whittaker’s victory at UFC 298 has assisted the former middleweight champion in getting back into the number of victories column. This victory comes after he was defeated by Dricus du Plessis via technical knockout in the second round at UFC 290, which took place in July of 2023. In January of 2024, ‘DDP’ was victorious in the UFC middleweight championship, which he continues to proudly hold.
Whittaker underlined that he would like to make apologies with Dricus during his post-fight octagon interview at UFC 298, which took place after the fight. Furthermore, he attributed the head kick to Costa, while at the same time indicating that he ultimately outworked the Brazilian fighter and gained the victory.
‘The Reaper’ praised Costa and made the following statement, alluding to the ecstatic spectators who had witnessed their three-round battle during the event:
“Yeah, this is the struggle that I had been preparing for all along. I have been waiting for this conflict all along. I gave you my word that I would go after him in the battle. I spent the entire fifteen minutes looking for his scalp, but he’s a guy who can handle himself.
