Paulo Costa took to social media to explain what went wrong against Whittaker at UFC 298 but isn’t giving up hope of a title run still in 2024.
Costa took Whittaker to a hard-fought decision in the co-main event of UFC 298 and was only seconds away from getting the former champion out in the first round thanks to a beautiful spinning high kick.
In the aftermath, Costa noted that he was frustrated at being “so close” to winning; citing a lack of pressure and competition as why his mindset going into the middleweight clash “was not so accurate.”
Costa reacts to UFC 298 loss in three-minute video
Taking to his incredibly popular social media channels, the 14-3 Brazilian shared that he was disappointed with the outcome of his co-main clash against Whittaker: “I’m not happy, you know this feeling kind of sucks, because I was so close, so f-ing close.”
Indeed, Costa might have been a few shots away from finishing Whittaker inside the first round thanks to a highlight reel head kick, with the bell sounding before ‘The Eraser’ was able to find that one last finishing blow.
“Everybody saw at the end of the first round, if I had a couple more seconds it would have been different.”
Costa also said that he could have easily swayed the judges into scoring the second and third rounds for him if he had a little more forward pressure and connected with a few more kicks.
“After 18 months out of the cage, I feel great, you guys make me feel great. I feel in my prime, I don’t feel [ring] rust but maybe a lack of competition outside the cage.”
“My fight mindset was not so accurate, I thought I was winning the third round, but I wasn’t…I zoned out when I could have pressured a bit more, but these are small details…I will not make these small mistakes again.
Now with just one win since 2019, Paulo Costa might have been looking to take some time away from the sport before jumping back in the octagon – instead, he wants a quick turnaround to ‘make things right’.
Costa said that he wants his next fight to be in May so that he can fight on the Saudi Arabia card: “I owe [that] for dana white, Hunter Campbell and Mick Maynard.”
Costa is “very excited for the future” and still believes that 2024 could be the year that he re-establishes himself in the title picture; in the aftermath, many fans said Costa should next face Nassourdine Imavov, who defeated Roman Dolidze earlier in the month.