If Paulo Costa is to become the UFC middleweight champion on Saturday night then he may have to do something only one person has ever done before, knock Israel Adesanya out.
Adesanya has never tasted defeat in UFC or MMA but in his previous career as a kickboxer he lost on five occasions, and was even knocked out once.
As a kickboxer Adesanya has tasted defeat and on his last appearance he was knocked out by Alex Pereira, when fighting on Glory of Heroes 7, in 2017.
The New Zealander became the undisputed UFC middleweight champion when, as interim champion, he beat champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 243, with a second round stoppage.
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He then successfully defended the title against Yoel Romero at UFC 248 in March, moving the 'Last Stylebender's' MMA record to 19-0, which includes a perfect 8-0 record since he debuted in UFC at UFC 221 in February 2018.
Adesanya now looks to continue his incredible run against Costa in what promises to be an explosive encounter if the build-up is anything to go by.
The Nigerian born fighter started his career as a kickboxer in September 2011 and won his first five fights, before suffering his first and second losses in back-to-back fights in 2014.
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He then went on a tear winning his next 12 fights and won the King of the Ring 86 Cruiserweights Tournament twice and the heavyweights tournament once.
His winning run was ended by Brazilian Pereira at Glory of Heroes 1 in 2016 but he then won another six fights in a row, capturing the Glory Middleweight Championship.
The 30-year-old finished his kickboxing career before moving into MMA full time with a final two defeats. He lost to Jason Wilnis at Glory 37 before failing to get revenge of Pereira in his only KO loss.
Topics: UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA, Israel Adesanya
