UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has shared a private message that he sent Paulo Costa after their fight.
Adesanya took on Costa in the main event of UFC 253 in September. He won the fight via second-round knockout, handing the title Brazilian challenger his first professional loss.
The fight was preceded by months of trash talk between the two fighters. As a result, Adesanya clearly took some pleasure in the victory. As it turns out, he also sent Costa a direct message after the fight, encouraging him to be more respectful going forward.
Adesanya shared a screenshot of the message he sent Costa on Instagram.
““Well I hope your leg is ok,” Adesanya wrote to Costa. “Next time be more respectful and I’ll be respectful back. You were an asshole, so now I gotta get you back to make a point!
“Thanks for the fight. Keep working and maybe in a few fights you may get another shot.”
In the caption for his post, Adesanya ruminated on the lessons he learned during his post-fight quarantine. See those below:
1) Never let your mouth write cheques your ass can’t cash.
2) I’m the wrong one to f**k with, cuz I’ll drag you by your weave.
3) To get respect you must show respect
Israel Adesanya is currently undefeated in mixed martial arts at 20-0. Highlights of his MMA resume include wins over Marvin Vettori, Brad Tavares, Derek Brunson, Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastelum, Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero, and Costa.