Whittaker-Costa, Neal-Garry Headed To UFC 298

I guess “buddy” signed the contract.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently announced the middleweight matchup between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa, a bout that has been booked several times in the past but never quite made it to the Octagon, mostly because of “The Eraser.”

Examples here and here.

The promotion will try again for the upcoming UFC 298 pay-per-view (PPV) event, locked and loaded for Sat., Feb. 17, 2024 at Honda Center in Anaheim. That’s where Alex Volkanovski will defend his 145-pound strap against top contender Ilia Topuria.

Whittaker (24-7) is looking to rebound from his technical knockout loss to Dricu Du Plessis at UFC 290 last July. As for Costa (14-2), one year younger than “The Reaper” at 32, he’s been on the sidelines since his decision victory over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 in late 2022.

Also joining the UFC 298 lineup is the welterweight showdown between Ian Garry and Geoff Neal, thrown together after “The Future” failed to get on the same page as Vicente Luque. Previously scheduled for UFC 299, Garry vs. Neal will get bumped up by a few weeks.

For the rest of the UFC 298 fight card and PPV lineup click here.