Israel Adesanya promises to punish Paulo Costa inside the Octagon in potential title clash

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be under the microscope when he faces Paulo Costa in his next title because of his lackluster performance against Yoel Romero in the headliner of UFC 248.

Although Israel Adesanya retained his title against Romero, his performance was widely criticized and many experts and fans even termed it as "boring". Adesanya is known for his prolific striking and counter-striking skills inside the Octagon but his fight against Romero left his fans wanting for much much more from the "Last Stylebender".

That is exactly why Adesanya wants to prove a point against Costa in their potential title bout later this year. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Adesanya said that the fight against Costa is all about proving himself.

“This fight is about me. This next fight is about me, it’s not really about Costa or anyone else. It’s about me proving myself. After that last fight, and dealing with what I had to deal with a statue, I’m looking to actually to go in there and have fun this time.”

Audience or not, Israel Adesanya just wants to throw down against Costa

While many experts consider Costa to be a very difficult matchup for Adesanya, the middleweight champ believes that he will punish the Brazilian inside the Octagon.

“This is picture perfect. That’s why I love it. The way he looks, this juiced up monkey, evil Drago looking motherf***er. There’s a skinny boy coming in there to whoop his ass, and when he whoops his ass, the s**t I’m going to do to him afterwards. Oh my god. All the sh*t he said leading up to this fight, he’s going to pay for it. He’s going to hear after the fight. Guarantee you.”

The coronavirus pandemic has led to the UFC deciding to hold events without an audience in audience, but Israel Adesanya doesn't really care. All he wants is Costa inside the Octagon.

“I don’t care if there is a crowd. I don’t care if there isn’t a crowd. It doesn’t matter to me."