Despite being slated to fight former undisputed middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 next month in Anaheim, California, polarizing division contender, Paulo Costa has claimed he has yet to put pen to paper on a bout agreement to fight the ex-titleholder – nor has he received one as of yet from the organization.
Costa, the current number six ranked middleweight contender, has been sidelined for over a year, making his most recent outing in a unanimous decision win over former champion, Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 in August 2022.
And booked to make his comeback in a high-stakes title-eliminator against the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October last, Costa was forced from the Abu Dhabi, UAE grudge match with the former after he developed a nasty bursitis infection in his elbow ahead of the bout, requiring numerous surgical procedures to address.