UFC’s April 17th card is now without a main event, as an illness has pulled Paulo Costa out of his middleweight fight against Robert Whittaker. The bout’s departure from a UFC card was first reported by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
The fight was scheduled to headline a UFC “Fight Night” event that did not have a confirmed location at the moment.
It is not known currently whether Whittaker will get a new opponent for the date, or if his bout against Costa will be moved ahead to a later in the year.
Costa was looking to return after losing a middleweight title shot to Israel Adesanya in September. The fight was his first loss as a pro after attaining 13 pro wins, including five in the UFC.
Whittaker is current on a climb up the middleweight division after losing his belt in 2019. The 30-year-old picked up two wins in the division last year, fighting to a five-round decision win against Darren Till and a victory over Jared Cannonier.
