Whittaker-Costa middleweight matchup to headline April event

The two top contenders in the UFC's middleweight division will go head-to-head when No. 1-ranked Robert Whittaker faces No. 2-ranked Paulo Costa on April 17, promotion officials confirmed to ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

The bout is expected to headline the event.

Both fighters have suffered recent losses to middleweight champ Israel Adesanya and are looking to get back in the title picture. Meanwhile, Adesanya is competing for the light heavyweight belt in March.

Whittaker is 22-5 and has defeated Darren Till and Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision since losing his belt to Adesanya at UFC 243 in October 2019.

Costa suffered the first loss of his professional career by way of second-round TKO at the hands of Adesanya at UFC 253 in September. He had previously won his first 13 fights.