Paulo Costa has trimmed down considerably following his loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 this past September.

Costa and Adesanya squared off for the promotions middleweight championship September 27 on Fight Island. Both men had entered the highly anticipated matchups sporting perfect professional records.

While many fans and analysts assumed Paulo Costa would pose Israel Adesanya the toughest challenge of his career, that did not prove to be the case. Instead, ‘Stylebender’ was able to make quick work of the Brazilian, emerging victorious by way of second round TKO.

Paulo Costa was obviously devastated by his first career setback but has vowed to return stronger in his next appearance. ‘The Eraser’ is set to square off with former middleweight kingpin Robert Whittaker on April 17 in a location still to be determined.

Costa appears to have trimmed down considerably for his bout with ‘The Reaper’, as showcased in the video below. (c/o Chisanga Malata)

https://twitter.com/Chisanga_Malata/status/1358445238495432707

Prior to his loss to ‘Stylebender’, Paulo Costa had gone a perfect 5-0 inside of the Octagon. During that impressive stretch ‘The Eraser’ scored stoppage victories over Oluwale Bamgbose, Johny Hendricks, Garreth McLellan and Uriah Hall.

Costa will now meet a hungry former middleweight champion in Whittaker. ‘The Reaper’ is coming off back-to-back unanimous decision victories over Darren Till and Jared Cannonier in his most recent efforts. Those victories were of course preceded by his TKO loss to Israel Adesanya, where he surrendered his middleweight strap.

Do you think trimming down will help Paulo Costa in his pursuit for UFC middleweight gold? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!