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At one point in time, Paulo Costa was Israel Adesanya's most serious rival, as hard as that may be to believe in 2023. Years ago, he was an undefeated middleweight contender with a near-100% finishing rate, with only Yoel Romero surviving to witness the judges' decision.
At the time, 'Borrachinha' adamantly pursued a title fight with Israel Adesanya, attacking him in every interview, at every opportunity he got. He frequently referred to 'The Last Stylebender' as skinny, often pairing it with another word for descriptions like 'skinny clown' or 'skinny African' or in this case, 'skinny bigmouth'.
In a tweet that he deleted long ago, he even referred to Adesanya in more colorful terms, as seen in the image below (edited for language purposes):
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The Brazilian even went as far as claiming that he wanted to kill the reigning middleweight titleholder during a Twitter attack.
Unfortunately, when the two men finally crossed swords at UFC 253, things did not go his way. He was on the receiving end of a one-sided loss, culminating in a second-round TKO.
Not only was the loss as lopsided as could be, with Paulo Costa looking like a deer in headlights, he was also the recipient of one of the most humiliating post-fight celebrations of all time, as Adesanya humped him while he was still dazed from the TKO. The sheer volume of trash talk he used backfired on him in a major way.
Since then, 'Borrachinha' has struggled to recapture the magic of his first title challenging run. He no longer has the mystique that comes with an undefeated record, nor the intimidation factor that comes with a near-100% finishing rate.
Who is Israel Adesanya fighting next?
Israel Adesanya was initially expected to face Dricus du Plessis in what would have been the South African's first-ever UFC title fight. However, due to an alleged foot injury brought up by Adesanya on social media, 'Stillknocks' will be unable to face him at UFC 293.
In place of Dricus du Plessis, 'The Last Stylebender' has selected Sean Strickland as his next title challenger. Given 'Tarzan's' recent demands that he face the reigning champion next, he will almost certainly be content with the recent change.
