Congratulations to Israel Adesanya, who took his opponent Paulo Costa to pieces in 2 rounds and winning by TKO. Costa was all talk in the end. We cannot wait to see the Stylebender back in the Octagon.
After watching Stipe Miocic cement himself as the greatest heavyweight of all time, UFC fans must be wondering what could top that. Well, the Nigerian fighting out of New Zealand Israel âStylebenderâ Adesanya up against an opponent whom he detests in the form of the Brazilian Paulo Costa will be a good start.
This matchup is going to be fireworks. They have two quite different styles, which will make this one of the first real tests for the current middleweight champion Adesanya. He carries himself with such a high level of confidence, we know he wonât be afraid on the night â but does he have enough to overcome the brute power of Costa.
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Dana White has been busy trying to fill the rest of the card with talent, so for now we arenât certain who else will feature. The full UFC schedule will be released in the coming weeks. Although UFC fans can be sure it will be another big night inside the octagon.
Equally, it looks like the venue is still uncertain with previous fights being held in The Arena in Abu Dhabi. However, with a bit of time to go between now and the September 19th date, means thereâs still a chance itâll be on the US or Brazilian soil â though we donât hold our breath!
UFC 253 Picks & Predictions
The event is about a month away and itâs important to keep an eye on the odds as the markets will move a lot on the top-tier UFC betting sites. The odds for fighters at initial release often vary a lot as the event approaches, as the promoters and fans learn more about the fighters training and what kind of shape theyâre in going into the fight. Right now we only have odds on the main event, but our experts will provide picks for the full card.
UFC 252: Full Card
- Israel Adesanya (19-0-0) vs Paulo Costa (13-0-0)
- Claudia Gadelha (18-0-4) vs Yan Xiaonan (12-1-1)
- Hakeem Dawodu (11-1-1) vs Zubaira Tukhugov (19-1-4)
- Kai Kara-France (21-1-8) vs Brandon Rovyal (11-0-4)
Israel Adesanya (1.61) to outstrike Paulo Costa (2.30)
Israel Adesanya has lit up the UFC, much like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva did before him, and has become one of the superstars of the sport. With him and the pound-for-pound champ Jon Jones exchanging words recently.
Adesanya beat Yoel Romero in what was a very odd fight in his last. Although he clearly won the fight, Yoel adopted an obscure gameplan, which made for a very dull affair. Before him came Robert Whittaker, who was the number one rated fighter at middleweight.
Paulo Costa has a burning hatred for the Nigerian, which is a mutually understood hatred. Paulo Costa is 13-0 and also beat Yoel Romero in his last fight. He is a very physical fighter and always works off his front foot.
This will be a new challenge for Adesanya and what we expected to see when the Cuban Romero fought him. So, this will be the actual test of that type of fighter.
While Adesanya is a machine, he will have to ensure he dodges the hammers that Costa will be throwing. The confidence and form the Nigerian is in at the moment mean to us that he wonât be stopped.
Expect Adesanya to win via KO/TKO.