Nah! ‘Salty’ Robert Whittaker shoots down Paulo Costa fight, ‘hustling’ for Adesanya rematch instead

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is not going to fight again this year, even if the promotion offered him a chance to reclaim his 185-pound crown.

So no, that Paulo Costa bout is not “in the works.”

“Yeah, nah, I haven’t heard anything about anything. Did he say in December? There’s no way I’m fighting in December,” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “No way. I wasn’t gonna fight for a title in December, I’m not gonna fight him. Nah, there’s nothing happening.”

Whittaker is expecting another child before the end of the year.

The 22-5 Aussie has bigger fish to fry after capturing two straight wins over Top 5 opponents, though it may be difficult to convince Israel Adesanya to rematch “The Reaper” when more exciting opportunities await, like a Jan Blachowicz title fight or even a Jon Jones super fight.

“I guess the ball is in his court,” Whittaker said. “He’s the champ, he beat me last time. So, I’m hustling for a rematch like a salty kid. Shouldn’t have lost the first time. But I’m excited for… I’m not excited, cause fighting’s never really fun, it’s kind of stressful, but I look forward to that rematch, cause as a fighter, as an athlete, I want to try and get that one back.”

Sounds like UFC matchmakers have their work cut out for them.