Robert Whittaker is set to face Paulo Costa at UFC 298 on February 17th, and he’s bringing all the abs with him from Australia for the fight.
Whittaker shared his physical transformation on Instagram along with the ominous caption, “I’m coming. UFC 298.” Anyone questioning his headspace coming into this fight can look at this post and know that he didn’t skimp out on the workouts headed into this middleweight contender’s bout.
Normally it’s Costa that pops up in the headlines when we’re talking about fighters looking absolutely ripped. But the 33-year-old “Reaper” is looking fitter than ever following his last appearance, a second round KO at the hands of Dricus Du Plessis. He’s more toned and muscular than we’ve ever seen him.
That may have to do with the “DDP” loss being a bit of a wake-up call for the former middleweight champion. During a recent interview, Whittaker discussed the changes he made to training after that defeat.
“A big strong guy that’s hungry and willing to leave it all there? You need to match that,” he said. “I feel like I didn’t do that in my last fight.”
Big, strong, and hungry certainly describes Paulo Costa. “Borrachinha” has fought just once in the last two and a half years. He finally has a contract he’s happy with and is healthy to go. We have no doubt we’ll be seeing the best of both men in Anaheim, California when they step into the cage against each other.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
