Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter Paulo Costa explained why the fight with Australian Robert Whittaker, which was supposed to take place on February 12 at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia, was canceled.
I put out new conditions before the fight with Whittaker. I won't fight for the same money. It's a great fight, so $70,000 isn't enough for that. I asked for a slight increase in the fee, the UFC refused to do that. In return, the UFC offered me a new contract for six fights. But I'm not going to discuss six extra fights. I only talked about one with Whittaker. I'm not going to consider a new contract with the fee that it has now. I don't think it makes sense.
Paulo Costa on The MMA Hour show
Costa had his last fight against American Luke Rockhold in August of this year at UFC 278. Paulo won that fight by unanimous decision. He has 14 wins and two losses under his belt. Whittaker has 24 wins and six losses.