Paulo Costa, the apparent No. 1 UFC middleweight contender, didn’t need any more motivation to fight Israel Adesanya after UFC 243. But he certainly got some.
After a run-in with the new champ cageside, Costa dismissed Adesanya’s performance against Robert Whittaker and promised a gruesome end when they meet in the octagon.
“When I put my hands on his head, his body – he’s going to feel it a lot,” Costa said on the ESPN+ post-fight show following the event at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. “I fear he can die in the Octagon, for sure.