Paulo Costa is next in line for a shot at the newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and the Brazilian is brimming with confidence that hes the man to end his unbeaten run in emphatic fashion.
“You know who’s next,” the cage-side Costa had watched Adesanya say after his KO victory against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 last night. “I have a heavy Ricky Martin wannabe next. ‘Borrachinha.’ This is my octagon. I’m going to smash him. I want to rearrange his face.”
However, needless to say Costa has a different vision of how the fight between the two will go.
“He pointed at me, you know,” Costa said. “And I know he cannot handle it from me. He cannot handle it from me when I close the distance, and I can kill him.”
Costa would go on to repeat similar sentiments later in the interview.
“I think I am the most dangerous guy in my division, the middleweight division. And when I put my hands on his head, his body, he’s going to feel a lot. I feel he can die, for sure.”
Reflecting on last night’s fight, Costa felt that Whittaker lost the early momentum that he had been building in the opening round when he was repeatedly closing the distance.
“I think Robert Whittaker start the fight very well, close the distance, because everyone knows when you close the distance against Israel Adesanya, he (loses) his distance, his time. He cannot fight with guys who pressure him. Everyone see, to watch the fight against Gastelum, and if Gastelum had my power, I think Gastelum could have knocked him out.”
And despite watching Whittaker fall at the hands of Adesanya, Costa can’t wait for his opportunity to get into the Octagon with his rival.
“Now, we have only one fight to do. One fight to make up. It’s me against Israel. I want this fight with all my soul. I will take his head off of this cage. Man, you don’t know how much I want this fight.”
