UFC: UFC 298 co-main event Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa betting details and preview

About the UFC 298 co-main event between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa. Provides the latest betting news, information about the fighters, and a betting preview.

Fight details

Robert Whittaker will fight Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 298 on February 17, a battle between two of the top ranked middleweights in the UFC. Whittaker is the betting favourite heading into this fight on UFC betting sites. Whittaker has -210 odds to win the bout on Bet99. Costa is the early underdog. He has +170 odds to pull off the upset. Whittaker and Costa are both ranked in the top 10 of the middleweight division. Whittaker is the number three ranked middleweight. Costa is ranked at six.

Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker

This is a huge fight for former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Whittaker is coming off a loss to current middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis. He lost to Du Plessis by KO/TKO at UFC 290. This is his first fight since. Whittaker has a 25-7 professional MMA record, but the last couple of years have been rough for him in the octagon. After winning 12 of 13 fights from 2014 to 2021, Whittaker has lost two of his last three fights. He lost one fight to Israel Adesanya and was stopped by Du Plessis. A win against a middleweight who is ranked in the top 10 should keep him from falling completely out of title contention. Another loss would probably make his chances of getting another title shot slim.

#3 - @RobWhittakerMMA

You can catch him at #UFC298 as the co-main event vs Paulo Costa 👊 pic.twitter.com/Lv5vTta6od

— UFC (@ufc) December 26, 2023

Whittaker has been one of the top fighters in this division throughout his career. Not many fighters at middleweight have a resume that can match his. Whittaker’s striking and ability to wrestle should give him a great shot in this fight. Costa’s two losses came in fights that were primarily fought on the feet. He had a hard time dealing with Adesanya’s kicks before losing by KO/TKO. If Whittaker can handle Costa’s power or defend well enough, he will have a shot at winning this fight on the feet because he uses kicks well. If Whittaker can take Costa down, this fight might not be a great matchup for Costa.

Paulo “The Eraser” Costa

Paulo Costa is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278. Costa has a 14-2 professional MMA record. He suffered his first two losses of his professional MMA career right before that victory over Rockhold, one to Israel Adesanya and one to Marvin Vettori. Costa’s power has been a huge problem for most of his opponents in the UFC. Prior to his first loss, he had won four of his first fights in the UFC by KO/TKO.

Costa has not shown as much versatility in the UFC as Whittaker. He prefers to strike and does not attempt to wrestle often. His power has helped him win most of his fights. If Costa wins this fight, he will likely need to beat Whittaker in the striking department. Costa has gone up against some great strikers, so he might be able to strike with Whittaker now that he has more experience. Costa’s power should be his biggest weapon in this fight. Whittaker was recently knocked out by Du Plessis, so Costa will probably be looking to see if he can stop Whittaker also.

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