Israel Adesanya Gives Kudos To Paulo Costa

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Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya may not have the best relationship with Paulo Costa, but he can still give the Brazilian credit where it’s due.
Adesanya’s title reign recently came to an end at the hands of Alex Pereira. Prior to that, he’d racked up an impressive five successful defenses — a championship run that included an emphatic performance against the-then undefeated Costa at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi.
In the buildup, the pair clearly had some animosity between them, something that remained evident post-fight when “Borrachinha” protested Adesanya’s choice of celebration following the second-round TKO stoppage.

At the time of his title challenge, Costa was a relatively low-key fighter when it came to online presence. But that couldn’t be further from the truth in the years that have followed, with the Brazilian quickly developing a reputation as one of the most entertaining figures on social media.
That growing meme-posting nature has come alongside Costa’s developing understanding of English, which was in its early stages back when he looked to verbally spar with “The Last Stylebender.”
Having seen his fellow contender enhance his stock outside the Octagon by learning English, Adesanya has nothing but props to give his former opponent.
Adesanya Shouts Out Costa For Learning English
The topic of fighters learning English has come up numerous times lately, from Islam Makhachev’s criticism of Charles Oliveira to Renato Moicano’s suggestion that the vibrant personality he displayed at UFC 281 was the result of him developing a working understanding of the language.
And during his appearance on Andrew Schultz’s FLAGRANT podcast last month, Israel Adesanya spoke about the importance of fighters being able to self-promote by being competent English speakers.
With that in mind, he gave “kudos” to Costa, whom Adesanya admitted has become a source of amusement for him.
“I love him. On Twitter… I like him. If we have to fight again. I’ll still whoop his ass,” Adesanya said. “I’m not cool with him. (But) if I saw him, it wouldn’t be like when we fought, ‘Grrr, what’s up?’ I’d be cool, but if he came with the energy, I’d be like, ‘Come on, man.’ But also, I think he’s really funny. His whole shtick with USADA, the secret juice.
“And also, kudos to him as well for learning English. A lot of these fighters don’t get as big as they need to be because they don’t learn English, don’t promote themselves, and don’t get to that level that they need to get (to),” Adesanya added. “But he’s done that and he’s doing the work, so shoutout to Costa.”
Adesanya’s comments come despite the fact that Costa’s developing English skills have further allowed him to target the Nigerian-New Zealander, which he’s done on numerous occasions in recent months.

Should Adesanya eventually locks horns with “Borrachinha” again down the line, it’s safe to say that “The Last Stylebender” will be preparing for more back and forth than 2020 brought given Costa’s newfound reputation.
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.

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Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya may not have the best relationship with Paulo Costa, but he can still give the Brazilian credit where it’s due.


Adesanya’s title reign recently came to an end at the hands of Alex Pereira. Prior to that, he’d racked up an impressive five successful defenses — a championship run that included an emphatic performance against the-then undefeated Costa at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi.


In the buildup, the pair clearly had some animosity between them, something that remained evident post-fight when “Borrachinha” protested Adesanya’s choice of celebration following the second-round TKO stoppage.



At the time of his title challenge, Costa was a relatively low-key fighter when it came to online presence. But that couldn’t be further from the truth in the years that have followed, with the Brazilian quickly developing a reputation as one of the most entertaining figures on social media.


That growing meme-posting nature has come alongside Costa’s developing understanding of English, which was in its early stages back when he looked to verbally spar with “The Last Stylebender.”


Having seen his fellow contender enhance his stock outside the Octagon by learning English, Adesanya has nothing but props to give his former opponent.


Adesanya Shouts Out Costa For Learning English
The topic of fighters learning English has come up numerous times lately, from Islam Makhachev’s criticism of Charles Oliveira to Renato Moicano’s suggestion that the vibrant personality he displayed at UFC 281 was the result of him developing a working understanding of the language.


And during his appearance on Andrew Schultz’s FLAGRANT podcast last month, Israel Adesanya spoke about the importance of fighters being able to self-promote by being competent English speakers.


With that in mind, he gave “kudos” to Costa, whom Adesanya admitted has become a source of amusement for him.


“I love him. On Twitter… I like him. If we have to fight again. I’ll still whoop his ass,” Adesanya said. “I’m not cool with him. (But) if I saw him, it wouldn’t be like when we fought, ‘Grrr, what’s up?’ I’d be cool, but if he came with the energy, I’d be like, ‘Come on, man.’ But also, I think he’s really funny. His whole shtick with USADA, the secret juice.


“And also, kudos to him as well for learning English. A lot of these fighters don’t get as big as they need to be because they don’t learn English, don’t promote themselves, and don’t get to that level that they need to get (to),” Adesanya added. “But he’s done that and he’s doing the work, so shoutout to Costa.”


Adesanya’s comments come despite the fact that Costa’s developing English skills have further allowed him to target the Nigerian-New Zealander, which he’s done on numerous occasions in recent months.



Should Adesanya eventually locks horns with “Borrachinha” again down the line, it’s safe to say that “The Last Stylebender” will be preparing for more back and forth than 2020 brought given Costa’s newfound reputation.


Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.




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