'Out of my hands': Robert Whittaker's fight with Paulo Costa in Perth called off
One of the most anticipated fights to ever take place on Australian shores has been called off, with Robert Whittaker announcing he will not be fighting Paulo Costa at UFC 284 in Perth.
The former middleweight champion made the announcement on his various social media pages.
"It's very upsetting to say [the rumours] are true - the fight with Costa has fallen apart," Aussie Whittaker said.
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"The UFC tried everything in their power to get him to the fight. They gave him the new contract, from what I understand, to take the fight and he still didn't take the fight. So yeah, the Perth fight is not happening."
Whittaker said he is hoping to be rescheduled for another fight in March or April instead.
Robert Whittaker's fight at UFC 284 in Perth will not go ahead. Getty
"I'm sorry to all the friends, fans, and family that are heading over there to watch me do work - but it's out of my hands.
"I'm upset. I was prepared to train through Christmas, to train through New Years, to put in the work. I'm already so deep into my camp, everyone knows my camps are quite long.
"I wanted to take the family out, I want to go on holiday after the fight, buy the kids some new toys, earn some money, pay the rent - but all that's put on the backburner for now and been pushed back."
Whittaker looked in superb form again Marvin Vettori when he fought in Paris in September, and a win in Perth would have catapulted him back into the title picture in the division.
Robert Whittaker will not fight. Getty
"What can you do? I'm just going to train my hardest, I'm going to train like a demon, and just take out my frustrations on the next guy - whoever they put in front of me," he said.
"But in the immediate future, I guess I'm going to have some birthday cake, what else is there to do?"
Whittaker said he still hoped to be in Perth for the card to do meet-and-greets with fans.
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