UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is confused – or maybe just curious.
Adesanya remains focused on making his first title defense March 7 at UFC 248 in Las Vegas. The only question is whom his opponent will be.
Adesanya originally was set to face undefeated top contender Paulo Costa, who’s currently No. 2 (behind only Adesanya) in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings. Costa even sat cageside during Adesanya’s title victory over Robert Whittaker last October in Melbourne, Australia, leading to a brief exchange during “The Last Stylebender’s” celebration.
Shortly after, it was revealed that Costa had surgery to repair a torn biceps. When that news surfaced, Adesanya turned his attention to Yoel Romero, and a fight between them seemed certain for UFC 248. But with seven weeks until the event, no matchup involving Adesanya has been booked.
That’s because, as UFC president Dana White revealed to MMA Junkie, Costa remains an option. Adesanya, seemingly having caught wind of this, responded Thursday in a tweet.
“I want to know something,” Adesanya said. “How do you get over a nine-month possible bicep injury in three months?” And then he laughed before the video cut off.
Adesanya has accused Costa of using performance-enhancing drugs before. The champ’s reaction in the video would seem to reinforce that belief, wondering how Costa could recover from his injury so quickly.
Last April, Costa received a six-month suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for receiving prohibited intravenous (IV) infusions. Costa always has denied using PEDs.
In August, Costa defeated Romero by unanimous decision in a “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC 241
Israel Adesanya curious about Paulo Costa's quick recovery from biceps injury