Dan Hardy believes Paulo Costa won’t fare too well against the top of the middleweight division.

Costa is currently 13-0 and coming off a decision win over Yoel Romero. He has also won 11 fights by knockout including being 5-0 inside the Octagon. Yet, for Hardy, he doesn’t think the Brazilian fares too well against the elite of the division in Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, and Darren Till.

“I’ll be honest, as dangerous as Paulo Costa is, I think he’s just a more reckless striking version than Yoel Romero. I don’t think he poses the same kind of problems to any of these guys. I mean, of course, if he catches you it’s the if bomb,” Dan Hardy said on BT Sports’ Open Mat. “It’s like fighting Derrick Lewis, you know? If he catches you, he’s gonna knock you out. If he doesn’t catch you, you can probably make him look quite silly with your skills and technique. And I think all three of these guys have got the skills and ability to make Paulo Costa look like a powerlifter, which is really what he is in comparison to these martial artists.”

Paulo Costa is currently set to fight Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 253 on September 19. It is a very interesting fight where the champ is a slight favorite but some pundits believe Costa could score a KO win. Yet, for Hardy, he doesn’t believe that Costa has what it takes to beat the elite of the division.

For Hardy, he believes the winner of Till-Whittaker has a claim to fight the winner of Adesanya-Costa. So, he is excited to see Adesanya fight the Englishman and rematch Whittaker down the line assuming he gets past Costa at UFC 253.

What do you make of Dan Hardy saying those three would make Paulo Costa look silly?