Paulo Costa expects Israel Adesanya to fight him like he did Yoel Romero

Paulo Costa expects UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to approach their fight in much the same way he did his recent title defense against Yoel Romero.

Adesanya defeated Romero in a largely uneventful matchup at UFC 248, as the champ chopped away at the Cuban’s legs en route to a win on the scorecards. Costa (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) made it clear that he was far from impressed with Adesanya’s performance and has dismissed his power, despite Adesanya’s 14 career knockouts.

Adesanya recently told MMA Junkie that he’s planning to surprise people by forcing Costa onto his back foot when they fight. But Costa merely laughed at the suggestion and remains confident that he will finish Adesanya early.

“He will never surprise the people and pressure somebody, because he never did that,” Costa told MMA Junkie. “Never in his whole life, because just one thing I can prove (why) he will not do that (is) because he doesn’t have power. He doesn’t have power to knock out somebody, make pressure on somebody, so he just has one chance, on the counter. So, if he cannot counter, he cannot do nothing. He will make the same fight he did against Romero, just wait, and when Romero comes in, he goes out.

“I will go inside him, pressure him and knock him out – first or second round, not more. Believe me, not more. Not more because he can’t handle powerful guys with his very fragile chin. He will go down or on his body. Doesn’t matter.”

Costa’s last fight was a unanimous decision win over common opponent Romero in an absolute barnburner, with both men starting to slow down towards the end.

However, Costa says fans shouldn’t expect him to come out the same way he did against Romero, as he will be ready for the championship rounds.

“It’s impossible to go so hard like I did against Romero for five rounds,” Costa said. “You need to save some energy, but I know this. I will save a little bit more enegy than I saved against Romero.”