Australian star Robert Whittaker to fight Paulo Costa in first bout announced for Perth’s UFC 284

Australian star Robert Whittaker will face fellow top 10 middleweight Paulo Costa in the first bout announced for UFC 284 at RAC Arena on February 12.

Whittaker, 31, has a 24-6 record and is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Marvin Vettori just last month to cement himself as a contender to once again face champion Israel Adesanya in a trilogy bout.

First he must get through Brazilian fighter Costa, who made it clear earlier this year he wanted to fight the man known as “The Reaper” in the last fight on his current contract.

The former champion was set to be on the first card in Perth in 2018 but was forced to withdraw because of injuries.

The three-round bout is the first fight on what UFC boss Dana White said would be a “stacked” card in Perth.

Costa (14-2) beat Luke Rockhold earlier this year to shoot into title contention, putting him into sixth in the rankings.

“Whittaker versus Costa is an absolute barn burner and a fantastic first addition to UFC 284,” UFC Australia and New Zealand vice president Peter Kloczko said.

“A match-up with ‘Fight of the Night’ potential and will be hugely anticipated by our fans.

“Currently the number one contender at middleweight, Whittaker was Australia’s first ever UFC champion and remains one of the biggest PPV draws in Australia. We are thrilled to have him compete on home soil and against such an exciting opponent.”

Australian featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is the back up for this weekend’s lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.

Once this weekend is over it’s likely further talks will happen around a title fight for UFC 284, with Volkanovski almost certain to be in the frame.

Perth fighter Jack Della Maddalena has revealed on social media that he is set to return to the Octagon soon, with the hopes of also fighting in front of his hometown fans in February.