Ahead of their middleweight title fight at UFC 253, Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa unexpectedly came face to face. Now the middleweight champ explains what really went down between them.
Heading into their highly anticipated main event, there seemed to be some real animosity between Adesanya and Costa. The two had been trading shots for a while, and things have only amped up as the fight draws closer. However that seemingly changed when a video emerged of the two coming face-to-face, but not keeping that same energy. Instead it seemed like the pair cracked a couple of smiles behind their masks, teased each other a little, and went on their merry way.
Israel Adesanya Explains What Happened With Paulo Costa
Given the unexpected nature of how things played out when Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa came face to face, fans were beginning to wonder if this rivalry was not genuine. However as the middleweight champ explained to media, during his UFC 253 press obligations, this was not the case at all. Apparently he wanted to size up Costa and see how he would react in person after talking so much trash.
“I know the narrative they would try to play if I went in the elevator to get my test. So I doubled back and I used that opportunity to size him up. I felt his pressure, because you can tell a lot by a handshake,” Adesanya explained. “I size people up. I tapped him on the shoulder first, felt the density. I said ‘oh you look skinny.’ I sized him up. I saw how tall he is, how short his arms were, little T-Rex. At the end, he mirrored me and tapped me on the shoulder too and he walked off because he knew what was up Where was all that action now?”
From there, Adesanya explains that he did not know for sure, whether or not Costa would try to do anything. However he was not concerned, and quickly realized that the Brazilian’s bark was worse than his bite. Therefore Israel was able to use this opportunity to size up Costa and prepare himself for what to expect in the Octagon.
Whether or not the beef between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa is real or staged, it does not take away from how epic this fight should be. They will be facing off at UFC 253, and the bout promises to be exciting.
