Paulo Costa has a genuine disdain for Israel Adesanya and regardless of how their UFC 253 title fight unfolds, he has no intention of making peace.
After being on a collision course for more than two years, Costa (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) finally gets his chance to put hands on Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) when he challenges for the middleweight title in the Sept. 19 pay-per-view headliner, which still does not have an announced location.
There have been many personal words spoken since the pair landed on each other’s radar, and the result is some bad blood heading into the matchup. Costa said the beef is not fabricated, especially after Adesanya’s repeated steroid accusations. Costa said that history won’t be washed away with a single fight.
“Even after I knock him out, I will not shake his hand,” Costa told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “It will be wild. It will be savage. … I believe in the second round (I will knock him out) because he will run a lot in the first round.”
The hatred between Costa and Adesanya isn’t the only thing that makes the UFC 253 title fight special. It will be just the second time in UFC history that two undefeated male athletes clash for a belt, with Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 in May 2009 being the first.
With the two sides combining for a remarkable 32-0 record, someone (barring a draw) is going to come out with their first loss. No one has been able to solve the puzzle that is either man, but Costa said he knows exactly what he needs to do to claim gold.
The Brazilian is nothing short of a powerhouse inside the cage, with all but one of his 13 career victories coming by stoppage. He’s seen how Adesanya’s past two opponents – Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker – have approached fighting the champion, and he said it’s been wrong.
Costa, in his mind, causes serious issues.
“I will not be staying and waiting for him,” Costa said. “I know he can run a lot, and that’s what he wants to do, what he usually does. I won’t wait like Romero did. I will hunt him inside the cage and close the distance and land my shots to his body and his face. … Don’t go so fast like Whittaker and don’t go slow like Romero. Make a balance. I think I am very different from both guys because I can pressure him every minute for the 25 minutes.
“I can keep the pressure very, very aggressive against him. I can push him at all times, and I have a lot of power in my hands, on my bones in my hands and kicks. Against him, I just need one shot to finish the fight.”
The wait for Costa to be locked inside the octagon with Adesanya has required serious patience. He should’ve had the fight instead of Romero at UFC 248 in March, but biceps surgery prevented him from making the date. He said he’s healthy now, though, and intends to make Adesanya pay for all the negative comments he’d made about him.
“To Israel Adesanya I would just like to say: Don’t give up in this fight,” Costa said. “Let’s fight. It’s your time to fight me, to face me, and let’s see how many hits on your skinny body, skinny face you can get.”