Israel Adesanya believes Paulo Costa is on steroids ahead of their UFC 253 title fight.
On September 26, in the main event of UFC 253, Adesanya and Costa will finally fight. They have been linked to a match ever since ‘The Last Stylebender’ won the belt last October. The two have traded shot at one another and now the champion believes the Brazilian is juicing ahead of the title fight.
“I think it’s great for me, it’s that aesthetic of it, I’m this skinny person, this little frail kid that everyone looks at,” Adesanya said during a pre-fight virtual media day (via BJPENN.com). “And he looks like the perfect antagonist, he’s big, bulky and juiced up to the f*cking gills. He’s a guy that beats everybody on the fence, so when I come out there with the Bruce Lee sh*t and f*ck him up, it’s going to be ‘oh my god wow, he beat that big muscle boy.’”
Entering the fight, Israel Adesanya is the betting favorite. Yet, he knows all the causal fans believe Costa will knock him out just because of how much bigger the Brazilian is. So, for the champ, he actually likes that as he knows this rivalry with Costa will add more money to his bank account due to all the extra attention.
“Like the casuals are going to feed off of it. I love that because it means more eyes, more attention,” Adesanya said. “Like I said, you don’t have to watch my fights, but you’re going to pay. I’m not talking money, I’m talking you’re going to pay attention. And attention turns to…” he said while making a money sign with his fingers.
Israel Adesanya is a perfect 19-0 in his career and coming off a lackluster decision win over Yoel Romero. Before that, he knocked out Robert Whittaker to win the middleweight title.
Paulo Costa, meanwhile, is also undefeated at 13-0. He hasn’t fought since UFC 241 last August when he defeated Yoel Romero by decision. It was his first decision win of his career. In the UFC, he is a perfect 5-0 including knockout wins over Uriah Hall and Johny Hendricks.
What do you make of Israel Adesanya saying Paulo Costa is juiced to the gills?