Nigeria’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) world middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has got a date next month for him to defend his title against unbeaten Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) ace, Paulo Costa, megasportsarena.com reports.
After several weeks of speculation, it has eventually been confirmed that the New Zealand-based ‘Last Style Bender’ will put his belt at stake against Costa on September 26, in a pay-per-view (PPV) event that is tentatively billed to hold on Fight Island in United Arab Emirates.
The fight, which was initially scheduled to take place on September 19, as another litmus test for the 31-year-old Adesanya, who has rapidly become one of UFC’s biggest stars since making his debut back in 2018; following which he has recorded an undefeated 8-0 log in The Octagon – with three title fight victories, three finishes and six post-fight bonuses.
He was ranked number four in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound ratings as at May 24, while Costa has won his first five fights inside of The Octagon, including wins over Yoel Romero, Uriah Hall, and Johny Hendricks.
The 13-0 Costa was originally on track to face Adesanya after beating Romero at UFC 241, but had to wait after undergoing biceps surgery and was in attendance when the Nigerian fighter beat the same opponent, after which the Brazilian was seen jumping over the fence toward the Octagon after the decision was announced.
Six months later, Costa will get another shot at one of UFC’s biggest rising stars, who snatched the full middleweight belt in 2019 with an impressive win over Robert Whittaker, then beat Romero via unanimous decision in March and, although there has been talk about him getting a superfight against light heavyweight champ, Jon Jones, that will have to wait until 2021.
Adesanya last twinkled against Romero via a unanimous decision at UFC 248 in March, while Costa, who has won all his 13 fights, beat the same opponent at UFC 241, and will get another shot at one of UFC’s middleweight belt come September 26.
