In the main event of UFC 253, Israel Adesanya made it look too easy against a trash-talking Paulo Costa. Adesanya won by TKO in the second round leaving no doubt who the king of the middleweight division truly is.
Adesanya battered Costa’s front leg with kicks to quiet the Brazilian fighter’s trash-talking in the early going, and by the start of Round 2, Costa had bruises up and down his lower half.
The win moved Adesanya to 20-0 in his career, 9-0 in the UFC and he’s now a two-time defending middleweight champion. Never one to sit back and wait for the next challenge, Adesanya already had a name in mind as he looked ahead to UFC 254 in a few weeks when a former champion squares off with a top-ranked contender at 185 pounds.
“I already DM’d Jared Cannonier. He’s a hell of a dude. I love his energy. He’s a beautiful man,” Adesanya said. “I said you destroy Robert Whittaker and you’re next.
While the UFC is desperate for star power, they may want to start putting all their chips on Adesanya. He is young, charismatic, and dominant.