UFC 259 free fight: Israel Adesanya dominates Paulo Costa to retain middleweight title

Few are as cool, calm and calculated as UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

In his most recent outing at UFC 253 in September Adesanya put his title on the line against Paulo Costa in one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year.

But, despite the heated rivalry between the pair heading into the bout, Adesanya remained unfazed when he took on the Brazilian powerhouse, who had vowed to run right through him. The champion used strong leg kicks right off the bat, while Costa fired back with some hard shots to the body.

Adesanya continued to chop away at Costa’s lead leg, and added some sniping jabs to his attack. Costa started taunting the champion, but didn’t throw too much offense his way. Round 2 saw more of the same, as Adesanya marked up Costa’s leg and eventually landed a blistering counter left that dropped the Brazilian. The champ then moved in and rained down punches from mount position to put the finishing touches on his striking masterclass.

Adesanya (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) returns to action on March 6 when he moves up a weight class to challenge light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz (27-8 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in the main event of UFC 259, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Before he faces Blachowicz, relive Adesanya’s finish of Costa in the video above.