UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa continue to engage in heated verbal warfare ahead of their fight at UFC 253.
Adesanya’s Trash Talk
Over the last year, the rivalry between the two has quickly turned into one of the most documented in the sport, with neither passing up on the opportunity to throw insults at one another. To make their main event matchup at UFC 253 even more interesting, this fight marks only the second time in the promotion’s history that two undefeated fighters will compete for a title.
Speaking to ESPN during a pre-fight virtual media day (transcribed by BJPenn.com), Adesanya once again accused Costa of taking performance enhancing drugs.
âI think itâs great for me, itâs that aesthetic of it, Iâm this skinny person, this little frail kid that everyone looks at,â Adesanya said. âAnd he looks like the perfect antagonist, heâs big, bulky and juiced up to the f***ing gills. Heâs a guy that beats everybody on the fence, so when I come out there with the Bruce Lee s*** and f*** him up, itâs going to be âOh my god wow, he beat that big muscle boy.’â
Story-Like Fight
With the bad blood and narrative behind the back and forth, Adesanya believes that more people will tune in to watch on September 26th.
âLike the casuals are going to feed off of it, and I love that because it means more eyes, more attention and like I said, you donât have to watch my fights, but youâre going to pay, and Iâm not talking money, Iâm talking youâre going to pay attention,â Adesanya stated.
âAnd attention turns toâŠâ He said while making a money sign.
As well as the big bucks, Adesanya believes that UFC 253 is lining up to be movie like.
âWhat better antagonist than this guy, who was undefeated, a KO artist, he looks the way he does, ballooned up,â he said âItâs like David and Goliath. I f*** this guy up, and itâs just spectacular. As they say: Someoneâs 0 has got to go. Itâs a beautifully set up story. You couldnât write this s***. You could, but itâs real.â
What do you expect to happen when Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa finally step inside the Octagon together at UFC 253?
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