Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa booked for UFC 284 in Australia

Robert Whittaker’s next fight will take place on home soil.

The former UFC middleweight champion returns to the cage against Brazil’s Paulo Costa at UFC 284, which is set to go down on Feb. 11 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The three-round bout will serve as the co-main event.

The news was officially announced by the promotion on Thursday on social media.

Once more into the fray. #UFCPerth #UFC284 #ReaperNation @ufc @UFC_AUSNZ pic.twitter.com/qC8AEtcCEo

— Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) October 20, 2022

Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) is coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori last month at UFC Fight Night 209 in Paris. The bout was his first fight back since losing to champion Israel Adesanya in a very closely contested rematch at UFC 271 in February. Whittaker is 13-2 in his past 15 bouts with the two defeats coming in championship fights against Adesanya.

Meanwhile, Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) recently snapped a two-fight losing streak, the first ever defeats in his professional career, by edging out Luke Rockhold in a Fight of the Night performance at UFC 278 in August. The pair of defeats came against Adesanya and Vettori.

The middleweight matchup is the first bout officially announced for the event, which is currently subject to WA Combat Sports Commission approval.