Israel Adesanya will be paying attention to Luke Rockhold vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 278.

Adesanya is currently set to defend his middleweight title at UFC 281 against Alex Pereira. Should he win, it’s uncertain who would be next in line but on Saturday night a pivotal middleweight bout goes down as Rockhold takes on Costa, and Adesanya is excited to see it play out.

Although Adesanya already beat Costa by TKO, a rematch would still be interesting, while a fight against Rockhold would also be a big one. The middleweight champ also sees a clear path to victory for both men.

“Luke should take him down, Luke should start wrestling right away. Costa, though early on (is dangerous). His hips as well, I remember with Yoel, Yoel tried to take him down and Costa had the overhook and wizard him and they got up,” Adesanya said about Rockhold-Costa on his YouTube channel. “Luke, if he can get him down or just wrestle him, get him tired, wear those muscles out. Luke should try and wrestle straight away do what I did, teep his legs, establish the range, leg kicks a little bit. But, start wrestling straight away and make him tired and make him know that he can be taken down or there’s a threat of being taken down. Costa, just do what he does, barrage him, clip him. If he clips him he will probably drop Luke.”

With Israel Adesanya seeing paths to win for both Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa at UFC 278, he says he can see both getting their hand raised. Yet, for his official pick, he actually believes Rockhold will pull off the upset.

“With the time off, hopefully, his brain has recovered as much as it can. My brain goes Luke so I’m gonna go Luke,” Adesanya said for his prediction of Rockhold-Costa.

Are you surprised by Israel Adesanya’s prediction for Luke Rockhold vs. Paulo Costa?