We’re two weeks away from UFC 298 in Anaheim, Calif., headlined by Alexander Volkanovski defending his Featherweight title against the dangerous Ilia Topuria. Also on the pay-per-view (PPV) card: two other Australians.
Indeed, Robert Whittaker and Justin Tafa joined Volkanovski for a special media event in Sydney in “The Land Down Under” to pump up the Feb. 17, 2024, event, which will take place inside Honda Center.
For Whittaker, it was a chance to address what he’s changed since losing his first fight since 2014 to someone other than Israel Adesanya. That’s because Dricus Du Plessis knocked out “Bobby Knuckles” in the second round of their UFC 290 showdown (watch highlights) en route to winning UFC’s Middleweight title.
Now, Whittaker is looking to stop Paulo Costa from also using him as a stepping stone to the belt.
“The Du Plessis camp and fight itself was a good wake-up call,” Whittaker admitted (via The Mac Life). “I think there’s good to be had in just about everything. And from that fight, from that camp, and that preparation, we went back to the gym, we went back back home, and we saw things in hindsight which is always 20-20. We took things away that we liked, added things in that we wanted to add, made some tweaks here, some changes there. And honestly, I’d say it’s for the better.
“I’m coming into this fight hungrier than ever,” Whittaker continued. “I’ve been really focusing on bringing that animal back. I’m not just in it, this fight, to win. I’m in it to hurt Costa, and I think that mentality is a powerful thing to have. When you fight for so long and you have so many changes in your life, sometimes all it takes is just loosening the reins a little bit.”
“And you’re fighting these hungry dudes,” Whittaker continued. “Dricus is a hungry guy, man. You saw in his last fight. And I think I underestimated that hunger. I still do believe I beat him nine times out of 10, I still believe I’m a better fighter than he is, that I have a better skillset. But, mate, a big strong guy that’s hungry and willing to leave it all there? You need to match that. I feel like I didn’t do that in my last fight.”
Whittaker confirmed that he was still hoping to win back the 185-pound strap, which he lost to Adesanya in 2019.
“I’m not looking at anything past Costa because I think that does disrespect to the fight itself and how bad I want to get in there to put work in,” he said. “But, the over-reaching career objective is obviously to get my belt back. That’s the plan, if you look at the grand plan, that’s the plan for my career: to win these fights, switch these guys off, become champ and then play with the kids.”
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 298 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 298: “Volkanovski vs. Topuria” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
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