Israel Adesanya claims there was a spat between Francis Ngannou and Paulo Costa that left “Borrachinha” shook.
Costa was near Octagon side for UFC 248 back in March. On that night, Adesanya put his UFC middleweight title on the line against Yoel Romero. Adesanya successfully retained his title and many expected “The Last Stylebender” and Costa to exchange words. Costa was nowhere to be found as he was escorted to the backstage area before Adesanya was interviewed.
Adesanya Says Ngannou Went Off On Costa
During an appearance on Submission Radio, Adesanya shared a story that his training partner Dan Hooker told him. The middleweight champion revealed that Hooker told him of a verbal spat that Ngannou and Costa had in the crowd (h/t MMAMania).
“He was like, ‘hey, Paulo, shut up, your last fight wasn’t even that good anyway,’ and he just like, he just ignored him like he didn’t hear it,” Adesanya continued. “Everyone in the f*cking front row heard it and everyone saw him sh*t his pants. So, no one wants to f*ck with Francis. And I said, [Jon Jones] been around the f*cking game for 10 years he’s never jumped up in weight. He’s not doing it. Trust me.”
Adesanya said he was told that Costa initiated the verbal jabs. “The Last Stylebender” also said that Hooker claimed Costa wouldn’t even make eye contact with Ngannou during the ordeal.
It appears Adesanya and Costa are on a collision course. The bout have been involved in a beef for a while now but haven’t shared the Octagon. The two were supposed to collide earlier this year but Costa was recovering from surgery.
Both Adesanya and Costa are undefeated in their pro MMA careers. Adesanya is 19-0, while Costa holds a record of 13-0. Time will tell when the UFC can book this middleweight title showdown.
