Paulo Costa wants to face Robert Whittaker next.
Whittaker defeated Jared Cannonier in the co-main event of UFC 254 on Saturday to all but guarantee his place as the next title challenger for Israel Adesanya.
Costa, meanwhile, is coming off a second-round TKO defeat to Adesanya in their middleweight title fight at UFC 253 last month.
It was the Brazilian’s first-ever defeat while his overall performance during the fight led to his stock decreasing massively in the eyes of many in the combat sports world.
However, “The Eraser” is looking to bounce back as he congratulated Whittaker on the victory and offered to fight him once he’s ready to return to action.
Hey Robert Whittaker enjoy your end of year, you deserved. When you come back we can do amazing fight
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) October 25, 2020
“Hey Robert Whittaker enjoy your end of year, you deserved. When you come back we can do amazing fight.”
While Whittaker vs. Costa is a great fight in its own right, the reality is it’s highly unlikely.
With two wins in a row since his own defeat to Adesanya, Whittaker will likely get his chance at a rematch soon. UFC president Dana White even confirmed as much in the post-fight press conference.
“It’s very appealing to me,” White said. “It’s the fight that makes sense right now. Adesanya has a lot of options, but the fight that makes the most sense is Whittaker. I thought Cannonier was going to be a much tougher challenge for him. He looked good tonight. So the Adesanya fight makes sense.”
There are other options for Costa, however.
He could face the winner (or loser) of the upcoming December fight between Jack Hermansson and Darren Till while Derek Brunson — currently on a three-fight winning streak — has called him out as well.
No matter what happens, the middleweight division will continue to have stacked fights.