Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker believes Israel Adesanya has what it takes to thwart Paulo Costa.
Back in Oct. 2019, Whittaker lost the middleweight gold to Adesanya. “The Reaper” was stopped in the second round via TKO. As Whittaker prepares for his first bout since that loss, he’s taken the time to assess the planned showdown between Adesanya and Costa.
Robert Whittaker Thinks Israel Adesanya Can Beat Paulo Costa
During his media scrum, Whittaker told reporters that while he doesn’t like Adesanya, he can respect his abilities and thinks he can get the job done against a dangerous Costa (h/t The Body Lock MMA).
“Who can say? I think Adesanya has the skillset necessary to beat Costa,” Whittaker said during media day. “He’s very technical, he’s very good. He’s a good fighter. Don’t like him very much but he’s a good fighter.
“But Costa’s dangerous. He’s so explosive, he’s got mad cardio and he hits like a truck. Look at the size of him. I’m sure that does something, that has something to do with why he keeps hurting people. ‘Size doesn’t matter’ — look at the size of him! You fight him then and tell me it doesn’t matter. Yeah, let’s find out.”
UFC president Dana White hasn’t been pleased with reports of Adesanya vs. Costa for UFC 253. The UFC boss says the fight isn’t a done deal yet. He did, however, say it’ll likely be held in Abu Dhabi.
As for Whittaker, he’ll look to get back on the horse on July 25. He’ll take on Darren Till in the main event of UFC on ESPN 14.
