Oddsmakers are taking Robert Whittaker in another top contender eliminator against Paulo Costa in their UFC 284 fight in February.
Since losing his middleweight belt to Israel Adesanya in 2019, “The Reaper” has picked off every other challenger trying to pass him. However, before he is able to get a third shot at Adesanya, he will now have to face Costa, who is coming off of an August win over Luke Rockhold.
Although both men have fought for the belt in previous years, oddsmakers have Whittaker as a fairly substantial favorite. He has opened as a -225, with Costa opening at +190. That being said, the odds have since shifted, with Whittaker now at -250 and Costa at +205 via FanDuel.
This means that a $250 bet on Whittaker would return a $100 prize, and $100 on Costa would come back to you at $305, meaning $205 in profit.
Of course, both men have floated inside the top 10 for the last few years, Whittaker fighting for his former belt earlier in 2022 and Costa back in 2020. Naturally, with Whittaker losing to no man outside the championship in almost a decade, momentum is on his side. Yet, this also sets the stage for a dramatic upset if Costa can pull it off.
Here are the opening odds for the pair’s last five fights:
Robert Whittaker’s last five fights:
- vs. Marvin Vettori (W): -225
- vs. Israel Adesanya (L): +220
- vs. Kelvin Gastelum (W): -275
- vs. Jared Cannonier (W): +125
- vs. Darren Till (W): -135
Paulo Costa’s last five fights:
- vs. Luke Rockhold (W): -260
- vs. Marvin Vettori (L): -150
- vs. Israel Adesanya (L): +120
- vs. Yoel Romero (W): +165
- vs. Uriah Hall (W): -290
