Cageside Costa Will Be Waiting For ‘Stylebender’

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You would think after a pair of suspensions and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, that nobody in UFC would be looking to start a post-fight brawl or jump the cage like Khabib Nurmagomedov did when he butt-bombed Leonardo DiCaprio Dillon Danis at UFC 229.

Think again.

Not only does Paulo Costa want to fight Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title, “The Eraser” wants to straight-up murder him. Probably because “The Last Stylebender” made fun of his 72” reach, which in Brazil is punishable by death.

That’s one of two reasons why Costa will be cageside at UFC 248.

“I’ll be there to see if Adesanya can beat (Yoel) Romero like I did,” Costa told MMA Fighting. “Everybody wants to see that, if he can beat Romero or not. I believe Adesanya himself feels he has to prove he can beat Romero, too, so I’ll be there watching.”

UFC 248 takes place this Sat. night (March 7) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Costa (13-0) already holds a unanimous decision win over Romero, who was gifted the next crack at the middleweight crown when “The Eraser” was sidelined by bicep surgery. During his absence, “The Last Stylebender” continued to mock his Brazilian rival.

If Adesanya prevails, expect a post-fight face off with Costa … and a possible bench-clearing brawl.