UFC 284 in Perth has it's first fight - a middleweight clash between Aussie former champion Robert Whittaker and Brazilian meme artist Paulo Costa.
The pair will square off at Perth's RAC Arena on February 12 as top-level MMA returns to Australia for the first time since 2019.
It's the first confirmed bout for the event and sees Whittaker fighting on home soil for the first time since he lost the belt to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium in October 2019 - also the company's last visit to Australia.
Whittaker, 31, has separated himself from the other contenders at middleweight but, after two losses to Adesanya, will have to remain patient if he's to have another crack at the Kiwi champ.
Costa, also 31, is reportedly on the last fight of his deal with the UFC and had been campaigning to take on Whittaker in his native Brazil in January but will have to settle for a fight in Australia.
when I fight whittaker it won't be by decision, I'll go for the knockout. I hope he doesn't change divisions before then.
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) September 4, 2022
Adesanya and Marvin Vettori - the fighter Whittaker beat last month in Paris - are the only two men to have defeated Costa previously, with the Brazilian snaring 11 knockouts in his 14 wins.
A host of other fighters have been rumoured to appear on the card, with featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski most likely to headline.
UFC boss Dana White has confirmed his interest in seeing Volkanovski fight for the lightweight title, which goes on the line at UFC 280 this weekend when Charles Oliveira faces Islam Makhachev.
Volkanovski could face the winner in February, or, if he was defend his 145-pound title, perhaps take on Yair Rodriguez.
Other Aussies Tai Tuivasa, Tyson Pedro and local favourite Jack Della Maddalena have all been thrown into the mix for UFC 284, although nothing has been confirmed.
Tuivasa is set to take on Sergei Pavlovich on December 3, so his participation in Perth will require him getting through unscathed and backing up a couple months later.
