'He just needs to handle the L like a man and move on' - Israel Adesanya has harsh words for Paulo Costa
Israel Adesanya had some rather harsh words for archrival Paulo Costa as he took a jibe at the recent wine comments made by The Eraser. The Last Stylebender asserted that Costa ought to accept his loss, learn from it, and progress.
Reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya successfully defended his title against Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in September 2020. The fight witnessed The Last Stylebender dominate and defeat Costa via a second-round TKO.
That said, The Eraser subsequently revealed that he was dealing with injury issues around the time of his fight against Adesanya. Additionally, he made another claim, a few days back, about being unable to sleep the night before UFC 253.
Paulo Costa explained that he was suffering from leg cramps and was unable to sleep that night, which is why he drank an entire bottle of wine to knock himself out.
In an interview with BT Sport, Israel Adesanya addressed Costa’s recent revelation.
Weighing in on Paulo Costa’s statements about being drunk and/or suffering a hangover during his UFC 253 fight against Israel Adesanya, the latter responded with some rather stern words.
“That’s what I’m drinking right now. I only drink wine. Yeah, the excuse was a bit flimsy. He just needs to like handle the L like a man and move on. That’s how you get better. That’s who you progress in this life, rather than trying to look for a reason why the skinny clown beat you because your ego can’t handle it.”
“It’s ego. He just, in his head, there’s no way in the world I could’ve beaten him. There’s no way in the world I could’ve beaten him in his head. So, he had to like, find an excuse. So, it was his leg, it was he couldn’t sleep, it was you know too much mast**bation, whatever. I don’ know. He had a lot of excuses in his bag. We’ll see what it is next week,” said Adesanya.
Furthermore, Israel Adesanya was asked if his win over Paulo Costa was his best showing inside the octagon. Adesanya responded by saying it was the cleanest performance he has delivered to date.
“Yes, I would say so – Cleanest performance to date. Cleanest…Hit and don’t get hit, that’s the name of the game. And it’s going to be the same thing this weekend,” said Adesanya. (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Despite having already faced one another inside the octagon, Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa are yet to bury the hatchet. Moreover, The Eraser has vowed to avenge his loss by beating Adesanya in a rematch sooner rather than later.
Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa aim for MMA glory in 2021
Presently, Israel Adesanya is on the cusp of becoming a double champ, as he fights Jan Blachowicz for the Light Heavyweight title at UFC 259 (March 6th, 2021).
Meanwhile, Paulo Costa is looking to work his way back to a Middleweight Championship shot by defeating Robert Whittaker when lock horns at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Costa (April 17th, 2021).