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UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker reviewed his last outing against fellow contender Paulo Costa on the main card of UFC 298.
Costa was returning from an extended layoff from action due to injury and had last fought in 2022. In an interview on The MMA Hour, Whittaker claimed that it was the Brazilian's best performance in the UFC since his debut in 2017.
He said:
"I'm in the gym like multiple times a day training for the absolute best version of Paulo Costa and unfortunately I got that, I got the absolute best version of [him]. Good on him, you know."
"I think that was his best performance, I think for sure like that was his best performance and he gave it to me, bloody hell right. But also like, yeah, he was just, he come in really really good. I think that version of Costa beats a lot of guys at the high level. He was much faster than we anticipated."
Whittaker continued by pointing out a flaw in Costa's fighting game:
"I knew from watching his fight with Romero, he has that doggedness in him to not go away. He has a head on him, like he can fight wars... And the only thing that I could point out was that he doesn't look as good when someone's taking the fight to him, not that he goes away, not that he looks for an exit, it's just that he doesn't look as good. And he can get pushed around a little bit and usually he can get outstruck that way."
Check out Robert Whittaker's full comments below (11:00):
Robert Whittaker highlights volatile nature of MMA fans
Robert Whittaker was looking to overcome his last loss against Dricus du Plessis from UFC 290.
He explained the backlash he faced from fans after being finished by du Plessis in the second round of their fight. 'The Reaper' stated that he would still come out on top of most of the middleweight fighters but the fans were quick to write him off after a loss to the reigning champion.
Whittaker also gave the example of Dustin Poirier in his comments:
"The MMA community don't make it easy. Those guys are harder than any fight. The criticism and comments are worse than any punch or any kick."
"I love the MMA community... But they can turn on you at the drop of a dime. You know how many times after I lost to DDP, just reading the comments, 'Robert Whittaker's a wash', 'Whittaker is done now' Let's be fair, I'm smashing most guys. [Dustin] Poirier is hands down smashing most guys."
Check out Robert Whittaker's full comments in the clip from the interview below:
