Paulo Costa reveals who Robert Whittaker should face after win over Darren Till
Paulo Costa is finally set to receive his Middleweight Championship opportunity against Israel Adesanya this September at UFC 253. The fight will happen 11 months after Israel Adesanya defeated Robert Whittaker at Melbourne to unify the 185-pound titles and become the king of the Middleweights.
The former Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker, on the other hand, took quite some time off to return to the Octagon, and after almost ten months away, he returned to defeat Darren Till in a unanimous decision victory.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Paulo Costa spoke about the state of the Middleweight division and said that Robert Whittaker should fight Jared Cannonier next:
“I don’t know what Dana White will do to solve that problem, but maybe a title eliminator can be good. We have Rob, Jared – I believe Rob and Jared need to fight to see.”
When asked about his thoughts on the fight between Robert Whittaker and Darren Till, Paulo Costa said that he was unimpressed by the fight and was waiting for more action. Speaking about a potential Uriah Hall vs Yoel Romero fight, Paulo Costa felt it was a good match-up between two men who he's both defeated:
“Interesting fight. If Romero comes to fight, I believe it can be a very good fight. Both guys I beat in different ways. Uriah Hall is very fast, he has good striking skills, and Romero is a kind of guy who’s more grappling, but he’s tough. It’s not easy to knock him out. Interesting fight. I want to see that fight.”
Is Jared Cannonier the right fight for Robert Whittaker?
Robert Whittaker has expressed his desire to fight again this year. While The Reaper Robert Whittaker has fought once a year since 2018, fighting again would make it his most active year in the UFC since 2017. Robert Whittaker's most active year in the UFC was in 2014 when he fought thrice.
Robert Whittaker was originally scheduled to face Jared Cannonier in one of the 3-round bouts at UFC 248, but he pulled out for personal reasons while Jared Cannonier suffered a pectoral tear and is out for a while.
Cannonier has been on a 3-fight win streak in the Middleweight division, finishing David Branch, Anderson Silva, and Jack Hermansson. He could be a win away from a title shot and if he's back later this year, don't be surprised to see him face off against Robert Whittaker.