"High-level, IQ fighter" - Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones, and others react to Robert Whittaker's "bada*s" win over Paulo Costa after getting rocked in R1

Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa entered the octagon on Saturday night in a highly anticipated middleweight match-up.

Coming off a TKO stoppage loss at the hands of Dricus du Plessis, Whittaker started the fight strongly as he looked to be the aggressor. The former UFC middleweight champion did considerable damage to Costa's left leg with his kicks and was seemingly the better fighter in the round.

However, Costa landed a flush spinning left heel kick just seconds before the first round was about to end which nearly sent Whittaker to the canvas. However, the former UFC middleweight champion was able to bounce back and managed to find his feet in the fight as it progressed.

Despite Costa landing his fair share of strikes and doing a lot of damage to his opponent's face, he was unable to put Whittaker away. 'The Reaper' brought out his best and secured a unanimous decision victory following the end of a highly entertaining three-round fight.

Reacting to the fight, the MMA community was quick to make their opinions heard on social media. Fighters like Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones, and more applauded Costa and Whittaker for putting on a great performance.

Take a look at some of the reactions from the MMA community on X below:

"Now that's MMA, that's a fight. Congrats to both"

"Whittaker, High-level IQ fighter, congrats champ @robertwhittakermma"

"Whittaker and Costa was a bada** fight...I think Whittaker pulled it out"

"Fight of the night so far"

Fighter reactions to Robert Whittaker's win

This took Whittaker's MMA record to 25 wins and 7 losses. The former champion last fought for the title in 2022 but lost to Israel Adesanya at UFC 271.