Australian UFC star Robert Whittaker has vowed to take out his frustrations on the "next guy" after his planned fight against Paulo Costa was called off due to a bizarre contract dispute.
Whittaker was set to take on Costa at UFC 284 in Perth on February 12, but those plans have fallen apart.
Costa claims he never agreed to the match-up, and hinted that the UFC announced the fight to put pressure on him to sign a new contract.
In a series of social media posts, Costa expressed his frustration at the situation.
"I feel sad for Robert because the UFC didn't tell him the truth lol," Costa tweeted.
"You don't deserve this. Bro, sorry I won't fight you in Perth. UFC posting this (Robert vs Costa) just to sell tickets, you need to realize that. They didn't pay me, I'm out! I'm not joking."
On his 32nd birthday, Whittaker also took to social media to confirm the news.
"I'm sure you've seen the media and the rumours going around right now about the Perth card and it's very upsetting to say they're true - the fight with Costa has fallen apart," the former middleweight champion said.
"UFC tried everything in their power to get him to the fight, they gave him the new contract from what I understand, to take the fight and he still didn't take the fight.
"This is very upsetting. I'm sorry to all the friends, fans and family that are heading over there to watch me do work. But it's out of my hands. I was prepared to train through Christmas, to train through New Year's to put in the work.
"I wanted to take the family on holiday after the fight, I wanted to buy the kids some new toys, earn some money, pay the rent, but all that is put on the back-burner for now. It's been pushed back, and it's upsetting for me."
Whittaker says he is now likely to fight in either March or April.
"I'm going to train my hardest, train like a demon and take out my frustrations on the next guy," he said.
The UFC event in Perth will be headlined by the fight between Australian Alexander Volkanovski and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Volkanovski already holds the featherweight belt, and has the chance to become the first Australian to hold two UFC titles simultaneously.
