LAS VEGAS — It wasn’t the fight that Israel Adesanya expected, but it’s one that he ended up having to deal with.
With his bizarre unanimous decision victory over Yoel Romero behind him, the UFC middleweight champion has set his sights on Paulo Costa for a July 11 showdown at UFC 252 in Las Vegas during the promotion’s annual International Fight Week.
That is, as long as Costa will be cleared by doctors to compete by then. According to Costa, he is ready to begin training and stated that he would make Adesanya cry if the two were to ever meet in the Octagon.
And the sound of that is music to Adesanya’s ears.
For him, an opponent with that much aggression is exactly what he’s looking for in his next opponent rather than his UFC 248 victory over Romero, which saw the challenger do little to engage throughout the five-round affair.
“I’m looking forward to that fight now more than ever because I get a guy that’s actually going to come forward, apply pressure and get hit by me a lot,” Adesanya said of what will likely be his next opponent. “I’ll pick him apart. He’s a guy that I’ll jab, pick off, catch him and then knock him out.”
Costa was highly critical of Adesanya’s performance against Romero by describing Adesanya as a “shameful champion” who is “afraid to fight.” The ultra-aggressive Costa has proven to be a force in the middleweight division with a 13-0 record (5-0 UFC) and all but one of those victories coming by knockout or submission. If and when they do square off, UFC President Dana White has promised that the showdown will produce fireworks and be nothing like what fans saw at UFC 248.
“Costa vs. Adesanya will be a ridiculous fight,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “I guarantee it, I absolutely guarantee it. He got what he wanted, he got him (Romero) on his resume, he beat him, and onto Costa.”
Over the course of his MMA career, Adesanya has been a fighter who turns his opponent’s aggression against them and picks them apart with his brilliant counterstriking. The aggressors (Kelvin Gastelum, Derrick Brunson and Robert Whitaker) have all met their demise at the hands of Adesanya. Romero — who has been known to be an explosive fighter — decided to not engage with the champion and attempted to bait him into making the first mistake. Adesanya refused to oblige and plucked his way to a decision victory that wasn’t very pleasing to the eye. However, it was a safety-first game plan and could have gone Romero’s way if he had been just a little more aggressive.
Is it possible that "Borrachinha" deploys a similar strategy as Romero where he waits for Adesanya to make the first move and looks to capitalize?
Don’t count on it.
“He’s too dumb,” Adesanya told DAZN News. “He’s an ignoramus buffoonus.”
