Free Fight! Adesanya Starches Costa On ‘Fight Island’

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will look to join the ever-exclusive “champ-champ” club this Saturday night (March 6, 2021) when he attempts to dethrone current Light Heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz, at UFC 259 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Before then, let’s take a trip down Memory Lane to see “The Last Stylebender’s” first and only defense of his 185-pound strap. This past September at UFC 253, Adesanya finally found himself staring down Paulo Costa in the center of the Octagon after months of back-and-forth trash talk between them.

As expected, the action got off to a bit of a tentative start, with both men trying to get a feel for the other before making their respective moves. At one point, both combatants froze in the center of the cage just staring at one another…seriously. Round two was much of the same, though Adesanya did land more shots thanks to his reach, using his leg kicks and jab to pepper Costa while keeping him at bay.

Halfway through the frame, though, Adesanya landed a solid blow to the forehead of the hulking Brazilian, busting him open in the process. With a minute left in the round, “The Last Stylebender” ramped up his output and landed a clean one-two punch combo that dropped “Borrachinha.” Adesanya then wasted no time to pounce on his fallen foe, unleashing some heavy ground-and-pound damage to forced the stoppage.

Blame the wine.

Now, Adesanya — who is undefeated at 20-0, 9-0 inside the Octagon — will look to add to his ever-impressive resume if he can get through the heavy hands Blachowicz possesses in his attempt to make history.

To see the entire UFC 259: “Blachowicz vs Adesanya” fight cared click here.