Costa withdraws from Whittaker fight

Former UFC middleweight title contender Paulo Costa will be unable to face the former champion Robert Whittaker on April 17 due to "severe flu". MMA Junkie informs about this with reference to its own sources.

It is also reported that Whittaker will not receive a new opponent, and the fight itself will most likely be postponed to one of the UFC Fight Night tournaments on May 1 or 8.

Whittaker, 30, lost the title in October 2019 when he lost by knockout to Israel Adesanya. In 2020, the Australian returned to the winning streak, defeating Darren Till and Jared Cannonier by decision.

The 29-year-old Costa has not appeared in the Octagon since October last year, when he finished the title fight by the aforementioned champion Adesanya.