Midnight Mania: Is Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa canceled AGAIN? ‘Not going to happen’ | UFC 298

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Paulo Costa doesn’t have the best reputation for showing up to fight.

Theoretically, the problem is solved. Costa didn’t like his old contract and acted out because of it, which didn’t mesh well with UFC’s habit of announcing fights prior to contracts being signed. Fortunately, the popular Brazilian recently scored a highly lucrative deal, so this should be an issue of the past. Costa is signed to fight Robert Whittaker next weekend (Sat. Feb. 17) at UFC 298 from Anaheim, California, but that match up has fallen apart previously.

Former title contender and MMA analyst, Chael Sonnen, is predicting a repeat. He doesn’t offer an exact explanation of his skepticism, but Sonnen is insistent that Whittaker vs. Costa does not happen next weekend.

“If you were just to guess, I’ve had a couple fights in my life where I’ve seen them and read about them and thought, ‘That’s not going to happen,’ and that was my reaction,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel about Whittaker vs. Costa (via MMAJunkie). “I loved them and they were exciting, possibly a situation where it was too good to be true but there was something about it, I didn’t feel it was going to happen.”

He later continued, “I am not that bullish on Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker. I am not that bullish ... It doesn’t feel like those guys are getting ready to fight.”

“I will make an observation, and that observation is that Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker are not behaving, and are not actively doing what other guys put in the same position that are three weeks, closing in on a fight that’s televised and monetized on pay-per-view,” Sonnen concluded. “They are not doing what two opponents generally would do, that are going to plan to face each other.”

Apparently, Sonnen has issue with the (lack of?) fight promotion between the two. I cannot say I’ve seen any heated social media discourse between the two, but that’s also not really Whittaker’s style generally. The Australian is looking absolutely shredded in his recent pictures, so his physical preparation appears to be on point. Costa, meanwhile, is posting goofy memes online per usual, but his workout posts show a built “Borrachinha” as well.

Think the duo make it into the cage in 10 days?

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Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.