‘My leg was totally impaired, and I shouldn’t have fought’: Paulo Costa claims he suffered leg injury prior to fighting Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 and blames that for his crushing loss
- Israel Adesanya dominated Paulo Costa from start to finish at UFC 253
- Adesanya triumphed over Costa via a technical knockout in the second round
- The Brazilian has since revealed that he should have postponed the fight
- Costa also insisted that he wants a rematch to be arranged with Adesanya
Paulo Costa has revealed over a month after UFC 253 that he sustained a leg injury prior to his defeat against Israel Adesanya at on Fight Island.
The Brazilian was dominated by Adesanya during their Fight Island bout, with ‘The Last Stylebender’ claiming victory via technical knockout back at the end of September.
Adesanya hardly broke a sweat during his second-round triumph in Abu Dhabi, but Costa has claimed that he should have in fact postponed the fight because of a leg injury that caused him to have a lack of sleep.
Israel Adesanya dominated Paulo Costa from start to finish at UFC 253 at the end of September
Costa has now said he should have postponed the fight due to a leg injury
‘Maybe I could have used more in the Adesanya fight, but many things happened before that fight,’ Costa said during a live video on his Youtube channel.
‘I don’t like to talk because it might sound like an excuse, but I had no sleep, my leg was totally impaired, and I shouldn’t have fought, I should have postponed it for the next weekend or more.’
The 29-year-old went onto reveal that he would like to face his UFC rival again to exact revenge against the middleweight king.
Immediately after the bell rang in Abu Dhabi, tempers flared inside the Octagon due to Adesanya’s over the top celebration.
With the referee moving in to end the bout, Adesanya added insult to injury by simulating a sex act on Costa before moving away to celebrate the victory.
Adesanya also launched into a bizarre X-rated rant as he celebrated. ‘I wrap my d*** around my waist it’s a black belt, motherf*****’ he said, in reference to the white belt thrown in his direction by Costa in the build-up to the title bout.
Costa said that his leg was ‘totally impaired’ in the build up to the fight with Adesanya
The champion then made his way to Costa’s corner to chat with his trainers. The conversation appeared cordial, until Adesanya said ‘Imma c** all over you’.
The humiliating moment caused Fury in Costa’s camp and the fighter took to Instagram immediately after the defeat to call on UFC president Dana White to arrange a rematch.
‘Adesanya is human trash,’ Costa wrote on Instagram. ‘This has become a grave situation! I saw his disgusting action after fight and I will not stop until I have my revenge. @danawhite make this rematch happen.
Adesanya simulated a sex act with rival Costa after his victory at UFC 253 in September
Adesanya also launched an X-rated rant following his stunning win at UFC 253 on Fight Island
‘It turned into a matter of honour and I want the rematch immediately. Let’s sort it out as it should be, life or death, 100% prepared. Dana White let’s go.’
Costa’s rematch calls appear to have fallen on deaf ears and now Adesanya has himself confirmed that he is making the step up to light-heavyweight to fight Jan Blachowicz for his recently acquired title.
Meanwhile, Costa himself revealed his plans for his next fight as he looks to recover from his previous defeat.
Costa, nicknamed ‘The Eraser’, claimed that a fight against Robert Whittaker was ‘in the works’.