It may not have been his greatest fight, but Israel Adesanya walked into UFC 248 as champion and he’s leaving the same way.
“The Last Stylebender” earned a unanimous decision victory over Yoel Romero in the main event, but he barely had any time to celebrate with undefeated Brazilian Paulo Costa already barking at him from outside the cage.
Costa was supposed to get the next shot at Adesanya, but a biceps injury forced him into surgery and kept him from competing on Saturday night. Immediately after Adesanya’s hand got raised, Costa leapt over the security rail because he expected to face off with the middleweight champion in the cage to begin promotion for their fight.
Instead, the UFC had to escort Costa from the arena floor out of fear that another fight might break out but it was clear Adesanya was ready for the confrontation.
“He left. I thought he was going to sh*t in his hand and throw it at the cage,” Adesanya said when addressing Costa at the UFC 248 post fight press conference. “That’s why I was trying to look at Joe Rogan like where is he and he’s like ‘he’s gone’ and I was like ‘oh f*ck’. I was ready to roast him right there and then.
“Trust me, I’m going to have fun with him. I’m going to f*cking roast him like a Sunday pig.”
Following the end of the event, Costa criticized Adesanya for a lackluster performance where he and Romero combined for only 88 significant strikes landed over five rounds.
Costa called Adesanya a “shameful” champion as he began ratcheting up the rhetoric between them in anticipation that the UFC will book this fight sooner rather than later.
Adesanya seems more than ready to accept.
“He sucks at trying to talk trash as well,” Adesanya said. “He’s easily influenced. I can flick his nose and you’ll see him bark at the cage. Like he’s too emotional. I already know how that fight’s going to go. I’m going to sleep that guy.
“I’ve had a lot of kickboxing fights, his reach, his arms when he lets them down reaches his waist. I’ll pick him apart. He’s a guy that I’ll definitely jab, pick apart, catch him and then knock him out.”
As for the timing, Costa mentioned a possible date on July 11 for UFC 252 in Las Vegas as part of International Fight Week. If that’s the date the UFC wants, Adesanya has no problem defending his title this summer.
“I’m looking to that fight now more than ever,” Adesanya said. “Cause I actually get a guy that’s going to not stand there and do like the 52 blocks at me. He’s actually going to come forward, have pressure and get hit by me a lot.
“That sounds good to me. July’s my birthday month. We’re in March, yeah I can do that.”
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