Nigeria’s own Israel Adesanya is continuing to prove he’s the next big thing in the UFC. In his recent victory over the weekend, Adesanya made winning look easy as he effortlessly defeated Paulo Costa to win another UFC middleweight title.
@ESPN reports, in one of the most anticipated fights in recent middleweight history, Israel Adesanya easily dominated Paulo Costa with a fascinating TKO at 2 minutes, 59 seconds of the second round in the main event of UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This latest victory earns Adesanya his second successful UFC middleweight title defense.
Israel Adesanya
“I told you he’s dumb. I’m smart. I understand this f**king game,” said Adesanya, who competed in kickboxing and boxing before coming to the UFC. “This was my 100th win in combat sports all around. … I’m not a f**king baby in this game. I’ve been in this s— for a long time.” Adesanya is now tied with former middleweight champion Chris Weidman for the second-longest win streak in division history with nine wins, Anderson Silva is the all-time middleweight leader with 13 consecutive victories in the division.
UFC president Dana White, when asked if Adesanya could be the new Silva of the division, said, “I think he’s gonna be the new Adesanya of the division. He’s got his own style and his own way about him. I think he’s gonna be the next big superstar here, especially after tonight’s performance.”
It was only the second time in UFC history that two undefeated male fighters met in a title fight, and the first time since Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida for the light heavyweight belt in 2009.
Adesanya, 31, said after his victory that he wanted to continue the middleweight legacy of Silva, the former 185-pound champion. “I wanted to do service to the middleweight division, and that’s a hard act to follow,” he said.
