Staredowns! Adesanya Belt-Slaps Costa

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will defend his division title against undefeated 185-pound contender Paulo Costa in the UFC 253 pay-per-view (PPV) main event tomorrow night (Sat., Sept. 26, 2020) inside Flash Forum on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.

Both “The Last Stylebender” and “The Eraser” came face-to-face earlier today at the conclusion of the official UFC 253 weigh ins (get full results and video here), as did light heavyweight co-headliners Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz, who battle for the vacant 205-pound strap.

Costa threw a white belt at Adesanya to mock “The Last Stylebender’s” ground game, but the champ caught the strap mid air, then returned fire against his Brazilian foe. A brief scuffle ensued before both combatants settled down.

Check out those videos above and below:

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 253 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+/ESPN2 “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN+/ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

To see the complete UFC 253 fight card and line up click here. Fore more news and notes ahead of this weekend’s “Adesanya vs. Costa” event click here.