Too easy.
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya battered challenger Paulo Costa from distance with leg kicks, then knocked him down with a left to the head and finished him off with ground-and-pound late in the second round to retain his crown at UFC 253 held yesterday, Sunday at the Flash Forum, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
What was expected to be a tough, competitive fight turned into a lopsided beat down as Adesanya overwhelmed Costa with technical precision.
“Fastest man in the world, baby! Cuz I run so fast. I’ll run right into your face,” said Adesanya immediately after he was declared the winner of the fight by UFC announcer Bruce Buffer.
Costa stalked Adesanya in the first round waiting for the opportunity to deliver powerful roundhouse strikes. But Adesanya kept him at bay with jabs and punishing leg kicks. Costa’s left leg had large, red welts after the first round which Adesanya won.
In the second Adesanya continued to punish Costa’s left leg with chopping kicks. The tide had turned with Adesanya now stalking a cowed Costa.
A head kick opened a cut on Costa’s right eyebrow and blood flowed down his face. Adesanya moved forward with confidence and the end came swiftly, decisively late in the round.
The two fighters engaged at the center of the Octagon. Adesanya connected with a left to the head which sent Costa to the ground. Adesanya mounted him to administer ground-and-pound and the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
“I’ve been telling you guys, man. But everyone thinks… Hey. Like Roy Jones said: ‘You all must have forgot. You all must have forgot.’ Cuz of what happened last time. You thought, ‘Oh. He’s so boring. Blah blah blah.’ And I see you media people as well. With your click bait headlines. But trust me. I had to make you all remember. Remind the world why we the best,” said Adesanya in the post-fight interview still inside the Octagon.
Adesanya then called out Jared Canonier as his next possible opponent. Canonier is scheduled to fight former UFC middleweight title holder Robert Whittaker at UFC 254 on October 24. Adesanya said he would like to fight Canonier if he beat Whittaker.
“I told you guys. Anderson Silva left a great legacy. And I said I want to do service to the middleweight division and that’s a hard act to follow. But we’re doing the work, 100 percent. So, I already DM’ed Jared Canonier. He’s a hell of a dude,” said Adesanya.
“I love his energy. He’s a beautiful, beautiful man. And I said ‘You destroy Robert Whittaker and you’re next.’ He’s the one I want to fight next. He deserves it. If he beats Robert Whittaker handily and dominates him… he’s next.”
In the co-main event Jan Blachowicz knocked out Dominick Reyes also in the second round to win the UFC light heavyweight crown.