Paulo Costa takes a shocking dig at Israel Adesanya over a rainbow BJJ belt
It seems like Paulo Costa cannot pass up the chance to poke fun at Israel Adesanya. This time, he saw an opportunity to ridicule the former UFC middleweight champion when Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach and MMA veteran Jake Shields introduced a new rainbow belt with multiple colors on display in the LGBTQ flag.
Jake Shields, a black belt in jiu-jitsu under the legendary Cesar Gracie, introduced AJJ (American jiu-jitsu) into the grappling world. Shields has caught heavy flak from netizens in the past for his polarizing views on people with pansexual orientation.
Paulo Costa saw this as an opportunity to mock Adesanya, who was promoted to blue belt in December 2020. Fellow peers of 'The Last Stylebender' have questioned his sexual orientation due to his flamboyant and exuberant demeanor.
Costa reposted Shields' tweet and captioned it:
"The gays already have blue belt."
Check out the tweet below:
https://t.co/0t8BxHtzGG
This is not the first time that Costa has treated Adesanya's grappling pedigree with contempt. Ahead of their grudge contest at UFC 253, Costa tried to get under Adesanya's skin by presenting 'The Last Stylebender' with a white belt (beginner belt that indicates no progress) while sporting his own black belt on stage.
THE BEEF IS REAL 😤
Things get personal as Costa taunts Adesanya with a white belt at weigh-ins.
[ #UFC253 - LIVE on ESPN+ PPV: bit.ly/2ZWMt22 ] https://t.co/axIHv9vhsh
Unfortunately, for the Brazilian, the efforts to annoy Israel Adesanya did not come in handy on fight night as the former UFC middleweight champion coasted his way to a second-round TKO victory.
Israel Adesanya claims to be a fan of Paulo Costa's efforts to engage with fans
Paulo Costa has emerged as a Twitter sensation in recent times and his platform has become a source of amusement for MMA fans. 'Borrachinha's attempt to revitalize his career and be a hit with the masses with his satirical content has caught the attention of Israel Adesanya.
Adesanya made an appearance on the FLAGRANT podcast following his loss to arch-rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281. Speaking about his former adversary on the episode, Israel Adesanya lauded the Brazilian's efforts to entertain fans and commended him for learning English:
"I like him [Costa]. I think he's really funny. His whole schtick with USADA - the 'secret juice'. Also, kudos to him as well for learning English. A lot of these fighters - they don't get as big as they need to be because they don't learn English, and they don't promote themselves and they don't get to that level they need to get at. But he's done that and he's doing the work so, shout out to Costa!"
Catch Adesanya's comments (58:30) below: