Paulo Costa decided to have a bit of fun with UFC 253 opponent Israel Adesanya before their fight on September 27.
Costa recently released a mock video of their upcoming bout on the pay-per-view (PPV) card that will go down from Abu Dhabi. Adesanya is played by Thai kickboxer Vanderlei “Toquinho” Goncalves. After some theatrical entrances, and Costa coach Eric Albarracin playing the role of Bruce Buffer, Costa is seen chasing the fake Adesanya around the Octagon.
This is a play on Adesanya’s previous fight with Yoel Romero, which was poorly received by the mixed martial arts (MMA) community for its lack of action. Costa expects Adesanya to “run” from him during their fight, and has dared him to stand toe-to-toe with him come fight night on September 27. Check out the full video here beow:
Ready For A ‘Real Fight’
Speaking in an interview last month, Costa said the difference between himself and the champion heading into UFC 253, is he’s preparing for a “real fight.”
“I like to think of myself like a real tough guy – maybe the toughest guy on the planet,” Costa said. “Because I train very hard, with two, three guys at the same session training with very hard hits, very hard punches, very hard kicks for real. 100 percent, I mean. Not just fake, just shadowboxing. No.
“So, this makes me very prepared to fight in real fights with real opponents like Romero. I am not afraid to get hit, because I did this already in my fight camp for two or three months. So, I’m properly prepared to make it a real fight. So, that’s the difference I think I have between me and Adesanya.”
UFC 253 goes down live on PPV from the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi. The show is co-headlined by yet another title bout. That being a light heavyweight title matchup between Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz, who will compete for the vacant strap.
