Paulo Costa is still open to facing Robert Whittaker after their UFC 284 fight fell through - but only if the promotion pays him $500,000.
Costa was scheduled to meet Whittaker on the upcoming pay-per-view event in Perth on February 12, despite the Brazilian insisting he never signed a contract for the fight. 'Borrachinha' has been vocal about his pay issues with UFC since last year and claimed the promotion was guaranteeing him just $70,000 to fight Whittaker.
"I said I want new terms to fight Whittaker," Costa said on The MMA Hour. "I will not fight for the same money. The people from Australia will be there and it’s a great fight. So [$70,000] is not enough for that. Just go a little bit higher, and they said, ‘we need to make a new six-fight deal’. I’m talking about that one to fight Whittaker, not six more. It doesn’t make sense to me."