UFC 253: Israel Adesanya Retains Unbeaten Status, Knocks Out Paulo Costa

UFC 253 kicks off its second run on UFC fight island with one of the biggest events of the year, as middleweight champion Israel Adesanya looks to defend his title against the fellow undefeated knockout artist and number 2 ranked contender, Paulo Costa.

Adesanya (19-0, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand) has quickly become one of the top superstars in the UFC since joining the promotion in 2018.

READ ALSO: UFC 253: Unbeaten Status To Be Lost By Either Adesanya Or Costa

After securing impressive wins over Derek Brunson and Anderson Silva, Adesanya defeated Kelvin Gastelum in one of the best fights of the year for the interim UFC middleweight championship.

He followed up this performance by finishing Robert Whittaker for the undisputed title in front of a record-breaking crowd of over 57,000 fans. Now, Adesanya looks to put on another vintage performance to become the first person to defeat Costa.
 
Brazilian powerhouse Costa (13-0, fighting out of Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil) intends to make the most of his first UFC title shot by landing another signature knockout.

Costa developed his reputation as one of the most devastating finishers in the middleweight division by stopping all but one of his wins before the final bell, including victories over Uriah Hall, Johny Hendricks, and Garreth McLellan.

Now, he plans to dethrone Adesanya and begin his reign as undisputed champion. 

Adesanya vs Costa: Main Event

"I'm really doing this s*** for real, for legacy." - @Stylebender discusses his #UFC253 TKO victory over Paulo Costa, their beef and adding to his legacy ?⬆️ #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi#UFC253 Final Results: https://t.co/YTFk4UiiBg pic.twitter.com/ftGu7r7zgN

— UFC News (@UFCNews) September 27, 2020

Paulo Costa was expected to be the man to test – and possibly beat – Israel Adesanya, but the middleweight champion was on top of his game in the UFC 253 main event on Fight Island, stopping “The Eraser” in the second round to successfully defend his undisputed crown for the second time. 

Adesanya opened the fight with leg kicks, Costa responding with one of his own closes to a minute in. In the second minute, Costa drilled the champ with a kick to the body, but Adesanya came back immediately with a few in return.

Brazil’s Costa showboated, trying to egg Adesanya on, but the champ wasn’t biting. Instead, the Nigerian native pecked and poked at his challenger’s legs, occasionally moving his attack to the body. 

Adesanya was simply brilliant in the second round. First, he unloaded with more leg kicks, then he went up with a kick that cut Costa over the right eye.

From there, it was just a matter of time, and as Adesanya dodged some incoming fire, he landed a left hand that put Costa on the deck. A few ground strikes later, and the champion had retained his title, with Jason Herzog stepping in at 3:59 of round two.

After the knockout, Adesanya was seen shouting and hailing Nigerians in "Lagos" city and speaking his native language Yoruba "e wo aya mi" which means "see my chest".

The undisputed king!@Stylebender is untouchable at middleweight ?

[ #UFC253 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/vyhCK9i1ei

— UFC (@ufc) September 27, 2020

With the win, Adesanya moves to 20-0. Costa falls to 13-1.