"I do believe I'm better than him" - Robert Whittaker previews upcoming Paulo Costa fight at UFC 298

Robert Whittaker is scheduled to face the former title challenger Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 298 on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Whittaker currently holds the third spot in the official UFC middleweight rankings. The New Zealand-born Australian fighter is 1-2 in his last three MMA fights, losing to Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis in high-profile bouts.

Whittaker is coming off a second-round TKO loss against du Plessis in July 2023. The former champion hopes to apply the lessons he learned from that defeat to his upcoming fight against Costa. In a recent interview with Megan Anderson on ESPN MMA, he discussed the strategies that he intends to apply against his next opponent.

'The Reaper' said:

''I'd like to lean on my speed and the accuracy of my shots. I'd like to move him around and to just be too much for him over 15 minutes.''

Whittaker added:

''It's only a three-round fight, but I do understand the threat he poses with his heavy hands and his heavy kicks. He's a big, strong guy so I'm going to have to take this fight with a level of gravity but I do believe I'm better than him.''

Catch Robert Whittaker's comments below (6.05):

Costa is ranked sixth in the UFC middleweight rankings. 'Borrachinha' is 1-2 in his previous three octagon outings, losing to Adesanya and Vettori while defeating Luke Rockhold. His most recent outing saw him defeat Rockhold by unanimous decision in August 2022.

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Robert Whittaker gives his thoughts on Paulo Costa's secret juice

Paulo Costa has an impressive physique and devised a 'secret juice' gimmick to complement his physical attributes. While he hasn't divulged the ingredients, the Brazilian has taken the gimmick quite far and even sports merchandise for the same.

Robert Whittaker, who is set to face Costa at UFC 298, shared his opinions on the Costa's 'secret juice' in the same interview. He said:

''He's a specimen. Like he's very big and strong-looking. I don't know, there something in his water for sure but I don't think it's secret juice.''