Israel Adesanya has had a stunning couple of years in the UFC. The Nigerian-born, New Zealand resident is one of the most exciting fighters on the planet. After knocking out Robert Whittaker to win the middleweight title, he successfully defended it for the first time against Yoel Romero.
Paulo Costa is up next. The Brazilian is a ferocious power puncher and his physique is insanely muscular. In fact, many people believe that he will walk Adesanya down and overwhelm him. However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is an incredibly slick striker. Don’t let his lean frame fool you.
But Costa believes that he will destroy Adesanya when they fight. In sum, the number one contender expects to send the champion to sleep and take his belt. In an interview with Submission Radio, Costa vowed to literally kill Adesanya inside the octagon. We don’t think he was joking either.
Frozen
Costa sneered at Adesanya’s cagey approach against Romero. Many fans found that fight to be disappointing because of the lack of action. But at the end of the day, it was down to Romero to take the fight to the champion and he didn’t. Adesanya played it smart by picking his shots and earned a decision win. However, Costa didn’t see it this way.
“I have just one question, Adesanya,” Costa said. “Why were you frozen when you faced Romero? You are not a real champion, man, you don’t deserve it. I will kill you.
He knows he’s fragile. He knows he cannot get two or three very hard hits on his face, on his body. And he will be broken. He knows that already because he was knocked out two times. … Imagine what I can do with him, with his skinny, fragile body with 4 ounces on my hands.”
Tough Guy
One thing that Costa has plenty of is confidence. In short, the Brazilian believes that he is the toughest guy on the planet. Furthermore, he believes that his display against Romero proves that he is the more able fighter. But only time will tell whose style is more effective. This one will be a barnburner. Costa said:
“I like to think of myself like a real tough guy – maybe the toughest guy on the planet. Because I train very hard, with two, three guys at the same session training with very hard hits, very hard punches, very hard kicks for real. 100 percent, I mean. Not just fake, just shadowboxing. No.
“So, this makes me very prepared to fight in real fights with real opponents like Romero. I am not afraid to get hit, because I did this already in my fight camp for two or three months. So, I’m properly prepared to make it a real fight. So, that’s the difference I think I have between me and Adesanya.”
Wild Match-Up
UFC 253 will go down on September 26th in Abu Dhabi. Tensions are running high because these two men don’t like each other at all. In fact, Adesanya says that his whole crew will be with him at all times in case Costa tries to take him on outside. He told Submission Radio:
“If we run into each other, I don’t care if he wants to throw down, we can throw down. I have my whole crew with me. I’ll have the gang with me.So, if he wants to try something stupid with white glasses and fucking cringe King whoever, bring it. My gang versus your gang. But I’d rather whoop his ass in the cage. So, he better not try something stupid.”
