At UFC 243, the middleweight title is on the line as Robert Whittaker looks to defend his middleweight title when he takes on Israel Adesanya.
For Paulo Costa, it is a massive fight as he has been told he will be fighting the winner. If the Brazilian could pick who wins, he is rooting for Israel Adesanya. Yet, he doesn’t believe that will happen.
“I’m really rooting for Adesanya to win,” Costa told MMA Fighting. “I think it’s going to be a really tough, I don’t think he gets past [Whittaker], but I’m asking God for him to win because I would really love to win the belt by beating him up.
“I really want to knock him out cold in the Octagon [and] leave him lying on the floor unconscious. I want to take that belt away from him so he stops being such a clown, but I don’t think he gets past Whittaker.”
Paulo Costa and Israel Adesanya do not like each other. They have traded shots at each other with the interim champ accusing the Brazilian of steroids, while Costa has trashed Adesanya. That is the main reason he wants Adesanya to win.
“We were at the same hotel when I was going to fight Uriah Hall,” Costa said. “He fought the night before against Brad Tavares, but no one knows who the hell Brad Tavares is, and he’s acting like he’s the man. We both won and he called me out. I don’t even know who this f*cker is, you know?
“He was just starting in the UFC. He had two or three fights, while I couldn’t fight because I was recovering and then waiting for Romero, and he grew [in the UFC] and became this cocky guy, always talking about me.”
