Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
It looks like Israel Adesanya (19-0) and Paulo Costa (13-0) will finally get to share the Octagon, as “Last Stylebender” is set to defend his UFC middleweight title against the undefeated Brazilian at UFC 253 on Sept. 19, according to a recent report by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani (Combate was first to report the booking).
Per the report, no official location has been named for the September pay-per-view (PPV) event.
Fight fans have been waiting quite some time for this matchup to materialize. UFC president Dana White has had to answer questions about the middleweight pairing for months now as the combat community waits patiently for one of the best fights of 2020. As long as this report rings true, Adesanya vs. Costa will finally go down in just two months time.
Adesanya, 30, has rapidly become one of UFC’s biggest stars since making his debut back in 2018. In just over two years, “Last Stylebender” has produced an undefeated Octagon record of 8-0 with three title fight wins, three finishes, and six post-fight bonuses. There’s very few fighters who have dominated the competition quite like Adesanya over the past few years and it will be interesting to see how he handles the most devastating knockout artist in the division.
Costa, 29, has won his first five fights inside of the Octagon, including wins over the likes of Yoel Romero, Uriah Hall, and Johny Hendricks. The Brazilian contender has been talking a big game over the past year and believes his power and aggression will be too much for the champ to handle. “Borrachinha” will try to do just that when he squares off against Adesanya this September.
Stick with Mania for more UFC 253 fight card news.