"My chin is back!” - Robert Whittaker reflects on Paulo Costa’s spinning heel kick and their incredible war at UFC 299
Robert Whittaker bounced back from his defeat to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290 with a superb performance in UFC 298's co-main event against Paulo Costa.
The pair of perennial middleweight contenders were initially scheduled to face off at UFC 284, but the bout was canceled, with 'Borrachinha' claiming he never signed a contract for the fight.
Their clash was rebooked for UFC 298, and given his TKO loss to du Plessis, fans raised questions surrounding Whittaker's durability.
After dominating the majority of the first round, 'The Reaper' was caught with a picture-perfect spinning heel kick with about 10 seconds left. The former champion managed to stay on his feet despite being rocked and was able to survive a brief flurry from Costa.
Whittaker rebounded with a dominant Rounds 2 and 3 showing to secure a unanimous decision victory. He recently reflected on his victory over the Brazilian on the MMArcade Podcast:
"Mate, my chin is back! I don't know where it went on vacation, but it's back dude... That kick should have killed me... It was a good shot... I remember fighting back after he landed the kick... I take a lot of pride in fights like the one I had [with Costa]. They're showstoppers, they're fun to watch."
Catch Robert Whittaker's comments below from 9:00:
Robert Whittaker discusses who he wants to face next
Robert Whittaker's stunning performance at UFC 298 has reinstalled him as potentially next in line to fight for the title.
Having been defeated by current champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290, 'The Reaper' made it clear that he would like to face off against the South African once more.
But the former middleweight champion also has eyes on another top-ranked contender, the man defeated by 'Stillknocks' to win the title, Sean Strickland.
With the UFC matchmakers appearing to angle for a fight between du Plessis and Israel Adesanya next, Strickland could be a more realistic opponent for the Australian.
During the aforementioned episode of the MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker said this:
"I wanna reclaim my belt. I would love to run it back with Dricus, especially cause he got the gold. But I do understand that Strickland is in line, like in the sights a little bit. Everyone's talking about him a lot, he's at the top, and that kind of gives me the path to the gold that I'm looking for." [11:30-11:51]