Paulo Costa explains why he hopes Israel Adesanya wins at UFC 243
Paulo Costa appears next in line to fight for the middleweight title. So, this weekend’s title fight between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya is very important.
The Brazilian has said he has been promised the next title shot and will be in Australia for the fight. But, when he is watching it, he hopes Adesanya wins so he can be the one to knock him out.
“I’m really rooting for Adesanya to win,” Costa told MMA Fighting. “I think it’s going to be a really tough, I don’t think he gets past [Whittaker]. But I’m asking God for him to win because I would really love to win the belt by beating him up.
“I really want to knock him out cold in the Octagon [and] leave him lying on the floor unconscious. I want to take that belt away from him so he stops being such a clown. But I don’t think he gets past Whittaker.”
Paulo Costa and Israel Adesanya have trade shots at one another for a while. The interim champion accused Costa of using steroids and the beef has been on for over a year.
“We were at the same hotel when I was going to fight Uriah Hall,” Costa said. “He fought the night before against Brad Tavares, but no one knows who the hell Brad Tavares is, and he’s acting like he’s the man. We both won and he called me out. I don’t even know who this f*cker is, you know?
“He was just starting in the UFC. He had two or three fights, while I couldn’t fight because I was recovering and then waiting for Romero, and he grew (in the UFC) and became this cocky guy, always talking about me.”
Although he wants to knock out Israel Adesanya to win the title, he suspects he will be fighting Robert Whittaker next.
