Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has offered his thoughts on the showdown between Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa at UFC 302.
Strickland and Costa clashed in the co-main event at UFC 302, where Strickland emerged victorious by a comfortable decision, after putting on a striking clinic against the Brazilian, who fought on the backfoot throughout.
Giving his thoughts on the fight, Adesanya – who has battled both men – said that Costa isn’t as good on the back foot as he is on the front foot.
“Costa sucks off the back foot — he’s not really good off the back foot,” Adesanya said on YouTube. “He’s doing better in this fight. Costa could set him up so bad here, man, because (Strickland is) so worried about that leg. It’s easier said than done, I’ll tell you that, but if you’ve worked on it, you know how to do it.”
“This is what I thought he would do. He’s walking him down. He’s possibly losing the rounds because he’s not really landing as much but he’s just like, ‘You know what? I’ll break him and eventually I’ll just storm him.’ [Strickland] hammer fists your face, that’s how he throws his jab, he just throws a hammer fist.”
Costa himself wasn’t impressed with his performance, and he promised to be aggressive moving forward.
Adesanya last fought at UFC 293, where he lost his middleweight title to Strickland after a five-round battering. He will likely face reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis next.
Do you agree with Israel Adesanya?
