After Robert
Whittaker earned a dominant decision win over Marvin
Vettori at UFC Paris on Saturday, Paulo Costa
called out the former champion for a fight at UFC 283 in Rio de
Janeiro this January.
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when I fight whittaker it won’t be by
decision, I’ll go for the knockout. I hope he doesn’t change
divisions before then.— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA)
September 4, 2022
While Brazilian fans were intrigued by the possibility, Whittaker’s
coach, Alex Prates
told Sherdog.com that there is no chance that “The Reaper” will
face Costa in Brazil.
“I have no idea where that came from, but it’s not true,” Prates
said.
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According to Prates, Whitaker is planning
to return to action in February in his home country with a belt on
the line.
“It´s almost confirmed. UFC is planning to hold an event in Perth,
Australia, in February and we are going to fight for the title
again,” Prates said.
Prates also confirmed a report from
Combate.com that Whittaker suffered a partial tear to the
medial collateral ligament of his right knee during camp. The
injury occurred on July 27, which forced Whittaker to modify his
preparation for Vettori.
“This kind of difficulty just shows what a monster of a fighter Rob
is,” Prates said. “In fact, since we changed the training system
after the first defeat to Israel [Adesanya], Rob has been improving
absurdly. Not only him, but our entire team. Really impressive. And
what you saw Saturday against Vettori was just a taste of what’s to
come.”