“They didn’t offer me anyone but Costa,” Sportskeeda quoted the Australian as saying. “They said we will try to reschedule the fight for March-April. As you can see, the same Strickland could have taken me on short notice, which makes me think that the UFC wants me to fight someone specific in March or April.
Whittaker does not rule out that his next opponent could be reigning division champion Alex Pereira, who took the title from Israel Adesanya last November.
“If it’s not Costa or Strickland, then who in the top 5 have I not fought yet? As far as I can see, there will be no immediate rematch between Izzy and Pereira. Looks like Izzy wants me to fight Pereira so he can fight the winner.”
Robert Whittaker, 32, got his career back on track last September with a unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori. Seven months earlier, the Australian made an unsuccessful attempt to take away the title from Israel Adesanya, who lost a unanimous decision after five rounds.