Israel Adesanya’s most recent title defence against Yoel Romero didn’t get the type of reviews he was expecting, but after fighting what he calls a ‘statue’ in that fight, the Kiwi says he is ready to put on a show if and when he defends his championship against undefeated Brazilian Paulo Costa.
The fight between Adesanya and Romero was a strange one, marked by very little output and almost no shots of any real repute. It is perhaps for that reason, then, that he says he is envisaging a more action-packed encounter in his next title defence, which is likely to be against Costa.
“This fight is about me,” told MMA Fighting. “This next fight is about me, it’s not really about Costa or anyone else. It’s about me proving myself. After that last fight, and dealing with what I had to deal with a statue, I’m looking to actually to go in there and have fun this time.”
Adesanya says he is anticipating a fight which is more in keeping with his style against Costa, who also holds a win over Romero.
“This is picture perfect,” Adesanya said. “That’s why I love it. The way he looks, this juiced up monkey, evil Drago looking motherf*cker. There’s a skinny boy coming in there to whoop his ass, and when he whoops his ass, the sh*t I’m going to do to him afterwards. Oh my god.
“All the sh*t he said leading up to this fight, he’s going to pay for it. He’s going to hear after the fight. Guarantee you.”
Costa remains without defeat in his five UFC fights to date. With each win, the level of competition increased — but so did the expectations. But Adesanya says he won’t have any experience to call upon of the type of fight he will find himself in against ‘The Last Stylebender’.
“He’s going to be a guy that’s going to press forward but he’s going to feel me from the get go,” Adesanya said. “He’s going to feel me like no one else in the UFC has felt me yet. I think the only guy that maybe pressed me a little bit other than Kelvin (Gastleum) was the Italian (Marvin Vettori). They’re both juiced monkeys anyway.
“But I look forward to this test. I know he’s a way better version than that and he’s not a southpaw. He’s perfect. He’s orthodox. I’m kind of getting used to fighting southpaws these days. It’s just something I do so I’m looking forward to fighting a pure orthodox fighter that just does the sh*t I’ve seen a f*cking million times.”
