Israel Adesanya has accused his upcoming opponent Paulo Costa of using steroids and being “juiced up to the gills” ahead of their UFC 253 fight.
In the main event of UFC 253 on August 26, the middleweight champion will face-off against his rival, Costa.
Both men are coming off victories against the dangerous Yoel Romero, and they will be putting their undefeated records on the line to determine who deserves the 185-pound crown. Over the past year, both fighters have hurled insults at each other and have gone back and forth on social media. For Adesanya, their rivalry makes for the perfect UFC fighting story and he has accused Costa of using performance-enhancing drugs.
“I think it’s great for me, it’s that aesthetic of it, I’m this skinny person, this little frail kid that everyone looks at,” Adesanya said during a pre-fight virtual media day. “And he looks like the perfect antagonist, he’s big, bulky and juiced up to the f*cking gills. He’s a guy that beats everybody on the fence, so when I come out there with the Bruce Lee sh*t and f*ck him up, it’s going to be ‘oh my god wow, he beat that big muscle boy.’”
He explained that he believes the aesthetics of his rivalry against Costa will engage casual MMA fans and bring more viewers to the sport, similar to Conor McGregor and how he managed to rally fans for his fights against the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Eddie Alvarez. He also thinks it will lead him to the bigger paycheque.
“Like the casuals are going to feed off of it, and I love that because it means more eyes, more attention and like I said, you don’t have to watch my fights, but you’re going to pay, and I’m not talking money, I’m talking you’re going to pay attention,” Adesanya said.
“And attention turns to…” He said while making a money sign with his fingers.
Watch his interview here:
Calling Paulo Costa "the perfect antagonist," @stylebender loves the aesthetic of a skinny guy "doing Bruce Lee s—" to a "big muscle boy." pic.twitter.com/iHAaTFpEJg
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 19, 2020
This is not the first time Adesanya has made comments of this type about Costa.
“What better antagonist than this guy, who was undefeated, a KO artist, he looks the way he does, ballooned up,” he said in another UFC 253 pre-fight interview. “It’s like David and Goliath. I (expletive) this guy up, and it’s just spectacular. As they say: Someone’s 0 has got to go. It’s a beautifully set up story. You couldn’t write this (expletive). You could, but it’s real.”
Who do you expect to rise victorious in the UFC 253 clash between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa?