"Get him tired" - Israel Adesanya outlines likely path to success for Luke Rockhold in his comeback fight against Paulo Costa at UFC 278

Paulo Costa (left), Israel Adesanya (center), and Luke Rockhold (right) (Images via Getty)

Israel Adesanya knows more than a little about how to fight Paulo Costa, given 'The Last Stylebender' was the first man to beat 'Borrachinha' in the UFC. Now he's offering Luke Rockhold some advice on how to beat the Brazilian at UFC 278.

In a new video posted to his YouTube channel, Adesanya broke down the entire UFC 278 card. As for Luke Rockhold vs. Paulo Costa, he suggested:

"Luke, start wrestling straight away. Costa, though, early one [is dangerous]. His hips, I remember Yoel, same thing. Yoel tried to take down Costa, and Costa had the overhook and just whizzered him and got back up and they smiled at each other. But Luke, if he can wrestle him and get him tired, wear those muscles out. Luke, try to wrestle him straight away. Do what I did, teep his legs, establish leg kicks a little bit, but start wrestling straight away and make him tired, make him second guess. Make him think he can be taken down or there's a threat of being taken down."

Training camp finished 🙌🤜🤛🔥 I’m ready! Next Saturday it will be a master class. 😁 https://t.co/G6ZRIHswh3

Even with Rockhold's questionable chin and three-year absence from the sport, Adesanya went ahead and picked him to beat Costa at UFC 278. Sportsbooks aren't so certain. They have Paulo Costa the -300 favorite to Luke Rockhold's +230 underdog status.

Watch Israel Adesanya break down UFC 278 below:

Luke Rockhold has similar advice for Israel Adesanya: "We all know Alex Pereira sucks on the ground"

Israel Adesanya thinks Luke Rockhold should take Paulo Costa down, and Luke Rockhold believes Adesanya should do the same against Alex Pereira. In a new interview with Helen Yee, Rockhold said:

"You know [Adesanya] lost to [Pereira] in a close one and then he got clipped in the second one cause he let him get in his head. He was in his head, you can see he was in his head... Israel's gotta check himself and he's gotta fight MMA. We all know Alex Pereira sucks on the ground. We all know even Israel could probably f***ing put him away on the ground."

Adesanya and Pereira are set to headline UFC 281 on November 12 at Madison Square Garden. It's a fight that many expect will feature non-stop fireworks from the two former kickboxing champions. If Israel Adesanya follows Luke Rockhold's advice and focuses on taking down Alex Pereira, though, there could be a lot of angry MMA fans in New York City that night.

Dana White guarantees Israel Adesanya's next fight against Alex Pereira will be "absolutely bats*** nuts" 😵‍💫

Full #UFCLongIsland post-fight scrum ▶️ youtu.be/HXTDey1CPbU https://t.co/XCVABpAawS

Fans can also check out the video below on various martial arts styles: