UFC 298 is coming in full steam with the highly anticipated matchup between long-reigning UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski going up against the brash up-and-coming contender, Ilia Topuria. The co-headliner for the UFC 298 card is just as amazing given that it would feature former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and former title contender, Paulo Costa.

Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker has proved time and time again why he is one of the best middleweights on the planet. His opponent, Paulo Costa is one of the most destructible forces in the middleweight division. Given that both fighters are undoubtedly at the top of their game, here is how the two match up.

“The Reaper” vs. “The Eraser” stat comparison

The former middleweight champion is coming off a loss against the current UFC middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis. Whereas, his opponent, Paulo Costa is coming off a dominant win against former champion, Luke Rockhold. However, Costa’s win against Rockhold was over a year ago.

Robert Whittaker has arguably one of the most well-rounded skill sets inside the UFC Octagon, with excellent striking combined with great takedown and takedown defense, which was on display against Yoel Romero in their two fights. From a statistical standpoint, Whittaker has a respectable knockdown average of 0.53 with a takedown defense percentage of 83%.

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Paulo Costa, on the other hand, has a juggernaut-esque fighting style, as he seemingly walks down his opponents with astounding pressure, eventually leading his opponent to crumble. Costa is also one of the biggest middleweights in the division, which to some extent helps him bully his opponents. Costa has an impressive 6.50 significant strikes (per minute) with an impressive 0.70 knockdown average with 79% takedown defense.

Now that we have seen how they match up, let us take a look at ‘The Reaper’s accomplishments in his career so far. Robert Whittaker has accomplished quite a lot in his career. Here is where his record stands.

Robert Whittaker: Professional MMA record

Robert Whittaker has over 32 fights in his professional MMA career, winning 25 of his 32 fights. “The Reaper” has an impressive 25-7 professional MMA record. In his 25 wins, he has over 15 finishes with 10 coming by way of knockout.

The Australian joined the UFC back in 2012, securing a contract after he won The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes finale. “The Reaper” has had 20 fights inside the UFC octagon with 15 wins and 5 losses.

Whittaker has wins in his record over big names such as Yoel Romero, Derek Brunson, Jacare Souza, Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, Kelvin Gastelum, and Marvin Vettori.

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Paulo Costa: Professional MMA record

Paulo “The Eraser” Costa has an impressive MMA record of 14-2. Through his 14 wins, 12 came by way of finishes, with 11 by knockout and 1 by submission. “The Eraser” brings justice to his fight moniker as he holds an 85.7% finish rate.

Costa joined the UFC in March 2017 and debuted against Garreth McLellan, with an impressive first-round KO win. He joined the UFC with an 8-0 record. But would unfortunately suffer back-to-back losses against former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori.

However, Paulo Costa has managed to get back in the winning column, beating Luke Rockhold at UFC 276. How do you expect the fight to play out between Whittaker and Costa at UFC 298? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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