Israel Adesanya And Paulo Costa Nearly Come To Blows At UFC 253 Weigh-In
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Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa were inches away from trading blows at the UFC 253 weigh-ins on Friday.
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The duo will square off for Adesanya's middleweight title on Saturday night and they looked up for it at the weigh-in.
Costa wore his black belt to the weigh-in and decided bring a present for his rival.
The Brazilian reaches into his pockets and removes a white belt, which he proceeds to launch at the 'Last Stylebender.'
Adesanya then catches it and throws it back at his opponent before UFC president Dana White steps between the pair.
Adesanya and Costa are separated by security and don't even get the chance to face off ♂️ #UFC253 pic.twitter.com/y8E9LCxmAh
- UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) September 25, 2020
"I'll knock your ass out!"
- UFC (@ufc) September 25, 2020
Listen into Adesanya & Costa's exchange :microphone: *NSFW*
[ #UFC253 - LIVE on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/QLKv2kXvtD ] pic.twitter.com/lWX7isaFyD
Fans have reacted to the encounter and they think it is a taster of what to expect on Fight Island.
That was quite witty from Costa tbh. Deffo pissed Izzy off. ^^
- Povetkin's Uppercut (@Kakashi281991) September 25, 2020
I'm here for dana white's reaction.
- expressedmma (@expressedmma) September 25, 2020
Izzy got rattled quickly at that not a good idea for that
- Stuart Campbell (@StormCampbell) September 25, 2020
Both men made weight for this weekend's main event, with Adesanya coming in at 184lbs and Costa at 185lbs respectively.
Costa had worried fans days before the fight after showing off his muscular frame on social media, but weighing in it didn't prove to be an issue.
The black belt taunt from Costa could be in reference to a press conference earlier this week when he criticised Adesanya's skills inside the octagon.
"Before becoming a striker, I was a grappler," 'The Eraser' told reporters per MMA Junkie.
"I'm a black belt in jiu-jitsu. My brother is here, my coach, and I have a lot of knowledge on BJJ and yes, this (ground game) can be on the fight also."
Adesanya then interrupted with: "He sucked as a grappler.
"Whenever he shoots, he loses his gas tank within the first or second shot. No one needs to see your grappling because you sucked."
Costa then responded by informing the Nigerian-born Kiwi he was a blue belt that "doesn't even know how to do an armlock."
Featured Image Credit: BT Sport
Topics: UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA, Israel Adesanya
