Paulo Costa claims “something happened” before his UFC 253 fight with Israel Adesanya that affected his performance in the cage.
Costa challenged Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title in the main of UFC 253 last Saturday un Abu Dhabi. Despite being hailed as the champion’s toughest foe to date, he was soundly beaten, and ultimately stopped in the second round.
Speaking on Instagram this week, Costa addressed Adesanya’s actions after the fight—which included a humping gesture—and claimed that he wasn’t at 100 percent in the cage.
“I come here to talk about the actions that the human trash did after our fight,” Costa said (via MMA Fighting). “I didn’t see when I was there [in] the cage but I saw now. I disapprove 100 percent. To me, this is [personal] now. Nobody will stop me. Nobody can stop me.
“I want my rematch. You know I am waiting for you. Something happened before the fight, I’m not [making] excuses here to my people, to my fans but I will be 100 percent to fight him and to make him pay. That’s my word. Save my words.”
Costa then posted a follow-up video on Instagram, this time speaking in his mother tongue of Portuguese, and doubled-down on his calls for a rematch.
“You know me and you already know, I won’t come here with excuses, but I’ll be 100 percent in my next fight and I want to be 100 percent,” Costa said. “The Paulo ‘Borrachinha’ you all know how to fight, the way he fights, going forward at all times, trying to finish the fight at any moment. I just saw his unacceptable and disrespectful attitude and he will have to pay for that in the octagon next time. He will have to pay every penny in out next fight.
“Dana White, make this fight happen. I didn’t see what he did in the octagon until now. It’s a matter of honor now. Paulo ‘Borrachinha,’ aggressive as always. Dana White, make it happen. I will be 100 percent this time, no excuses, to rip this disrespectful clown’s head off.”
What do you think of these post-fight comments from Paulo Costa?