Is Israel Adesanya turning down fights against Paulo Costa?
Currently, Costa is the top contender (behind Robert Whittaker) for the UFC Middleweight title, thus it’s natural to assume that the Brazilian native would be next in line for an opportunity at the prestigious belt.
While speculation has it that the two fighters will be the next coaches for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, that might not be the case afterall as Wallid Ismail, who is Costa’s manager, says that Adesanya has already turned down two opportunities for a fight against Costa:
“His coach lied (about Adesanya not being offered a bout against Costa),” Ismail told MMA Fighting. “He has to understand that when he says something in Australia we can see it right away in Brazil through the internet. He can’t lie. There was an offer for July 11, and then they said August, and now they are talking September or October.
Adesanya can’t choose opponents, this is not a f***ing video game. If he wants to choose opponents, just buy the UFC game. This is MMA and you have to put the No. 1 contender against the champion. The point is, this champion had a disaster of a performance last time he fought, so ‘Borrachinha’ is coming to save this pay-per-view.”
Ismail simply wants Adesanya to stop ducking Costa and accept the fight against the top contender for the belt:
“Don’t run away from this fight please,” Ismail said. “His coach is trying to act like a manager now and that’s how careers end. We’re hoping to have a date some time this year, and I just hope they stop crying. Adesanya is crying. He can’t say anything online until he actually signs the deal. If you’re offered a fight and don’t take it, you can’t say anything.”
Costa has fully recovered from a biceps surgery that kept the fighter out of action for nearly a year now. As of this writing, Adesanya has yet to respond to Ismail's claims.