Dana White is ready to book 'crazy' Paulo Costa for a title shot, but he has a set condition
UFC President Dana White is very much interested in making the fight between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa possible.
But it will never happen until White is sure of Costa's health. He talked about a possible future fight between the two at the UFC 248 post-fight media conference.
Dana White: This is the fight I want to see
Costa was present in the audience at T-Mobile Arena while Adesanya defended his Middleweight title against Yoel Romero at UFC 248. He shared a picture and a small video clip on his Instagram account from the venue.
Post a unanimous win and title retention by the Champ, Costa was seen jumping into the Octagon, quite ready to take the fight with Adesanya then and there - something that White did not approve of.
"He's gotta calm down. He went crazy tonight and jumped over the cage. We had to throw him out. He wants this fight so bad."
The two were originally scheduled to take it up in December last year after Adesanya's win over Robert Whittaker. But something went wrong with his recovery from a bicep surgery, sending him out of the cage till next spring. UFC had to let go of that title bout and instead booked Yoel Romero as a Challenger for Adesanya next.
Now there is word of him coming back in April 2020 and Costa looked nothing but eager and waiting to take the fight to 'The Last Stylebender'. But nothing less than a doctor's certificate will convince White to go ahead with the booking of the fight, he made it clear at the conference.
"When he's healthy, and a doctor calls and tells me, not his friend in Brazil, when a doctor calls me and tells me that he is healthy, I'll make this fight. This is the fight to make. This is the fight that I want to see. "
With the attitude he showed at the Las Vegas event, it seems like that is a possibility anytime soon. Adesanya too seemed taken with the idea, saying "I'll (expletive) him up" at the onstage interview after the fight.