Robert Whittaker wants to do as much damage as possible to Paulo Costa at UFC 298, saying an upset defeat in his last fight "put the animal" back in him.

Whittaker, a former UFC middleweight champion, dropped his usually cool demeanour to warn Brazilian challenger Costa ahead of their February 17 fight in California.

"I'm not just in this fight to win, I'm in it to hurt Costa," the New Zealand-born Australian said.

South African underdog Dricus Du Plessis knocked Whittaker out in the second round of his last fight in July.

Whittaker said he simply didn't match his opponent's energy.

"I've been really focusing trying to bring the animal back," he said.

"I'm coming into this fight hungrier than ever."

The unexpected loss forced Whittaker to tweak his entire game plan and mentality, saying he had underestimated the hunger brought to fights by his opponents.

He has since shifted his focus to reclaim the middleweight title and cement a legacy.

"The overreaching career objective is obviously to get my belt back," Whittaker said.

"That's the plan for my career, to win these fights ... become champ and then play with the kids."

The 33-year-old takes his record of 25 wins and seven losses up against his 32-year-old rival's career record of 14 wins and two losses.

A series of fight cancellations with the likes of Khamzat Chimaev, Ikram Aliskerov and Whittaker mean that Costa's last fight was his win against American Luke Rockhold in August 2022.

Whittaker and Costa will fight on the undercard of Alexander Volkanovski's featherweight title defence against Ilia Topuria, whose undefeated record is on the line.