"Judge thought different" - Paulo Costa releases statement after decision loss to Robert Whittaker

Paulo Costa's most recent MMA bout witnessed him suffer a defeat against former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. 'The Eraser' aka 'Borrachinha' faced Whittaker in the co-headlining matchup of UFC 298 earlier tonight (Feb. 17, 2024).

The Brazilian KO artist stunned Whittaker with a vicious wheel kick towards the end of round one of their three-round middleweight showdown. 'The Reaper' survived and appeared to land a greater volume of strikes than Costa in rounds two and three.

Ultimately, the three official judges scored it as a unanimous decision victory for Whittaker (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). Judge Ron McCarthy and Judge Eliot Kelly both had it 29-28 for 'The Reaper,' while Judge Mike Bell scored it 30-27 in favor of the New Zealand-born Australian MMA stalwart.

Costa has now tweeted regarding his UFC 298 loss and the judges' verdict. In his tweet, which featured a video of his head kick that rocked Whittaker, 'The Eraser' seems to have kept in line with his jovial social media persona.

The 32-year-old thanked his supporters. Additionally, Costa suggested that during the fight, he felt he was winning, pressuring Whittaker to retreat and hurt 'The Reaper's' face. He acknowledged, however, that the judges didn't share the same opinion.

Regardless, Costa highlighted that he's injury-free and would pressure his opponent even more to secure a finish in his next octagon appearance. He tweeted:

"Hey mtfks you’re amazing thank you all for support . During the fight I felt like I was winning pressuring him back and hurt his face but judge thought different. Anyway I’m back no injuries and next I gonna pressure even more until finish. Lov u all"

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Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa: What's next for 'The Reaper' and 'The Eraser' after UFC 298 war?

Presently, neither Robert Whittaker nor Paulo Costa's respective next opponents and/or comeback dates have been officially announced. As for Costa, he's now 1-3 in his past four octagon appearances. The consensus is that 'The Eraser's' latest defeat has likely cast him out of the UFC middleweight title picture for the time being.

Meanwhile, Whittaker's win at UFC 298 has helped the former middleweight kingpin return to the win column. It's come after he suffered a vicious second-round TKO defeat against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290 (July 2023). In January 2024, 'DDP' won the UFC middleweight title, which he still possesses.

During his UFC 298 post-fight octagon interview, Whittaker emphasized that he'd like to make amends with Dricus. Moreover, he credited Costa for the head kick whilst insinuating that he eventually outworked the Brazilian fighter and secured the win.

Making an allusion to the thrilled fans in attendance, who'd witnessed their three-round war, 'The Reaper' lauded Costa and stated:

"Yeah, this is the exact fight I prepared for. This is the fight that I wanted. I told you I would take the fight to him. I looked for his scalp the whole 15 minutes, but he's a tough dude."

Check out Whittaker's comments below (0:30):